Chapter 732: The Wizard and the Magic Tower (9)

The dark research lab had all its lights extinguished.

Lennok leaned back in his chair, pulling out a lighter, staring at the platinum-colored mass formula rotating on the workbench.

Click, click…!!

Having stayed up all night chain-smoking, Lennok’s expression was deeply grim.

‘Information on Yorta…’

Grimalder, who was murdered in the Military Spirit City, was directly involved in Kaiser’s death. If he wanted to find Kaiser’s body, investigating Grimalder’s death would be the most ideal path.

The problem was that Lennok currently had neither the justification nor the means to head to the Military Spirit City.

‘Information obtainable through Vulcan’s brokers is too old to be useful. And there’s nothing worthwhile on the Deepweb either…’

He had scoured the Deepweb, brokers’ networks, and even the Observers’ intelligence network, but found no suitable information.

All that remained was the hints he’d dropped to Jenny and Hylaea.

The first contact came from Hylaea.

Hylaea, calling through a private line connected via his Victor identity, said:

“Victor. One of our members wants to meet you regarding the subject you mentioned.”

Lennok immediately altered his voice and asked, “Who is it?”

“Someone you know,” Hylaea replied calmly. “The Spell-Word Sorcerer is looking for you. She wants to meet. Is that alright?”

“……”

There was only one person known as the Spell-Word Sorcerer in Pandemonium. Sabrinah, who had participated in the interim settlement and had previously exchanged information with Lennok.

Did this mean she had information about the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade?

“Where’s the location?”

“Vulcan’s outermost undeveloped zone, a military facility,” Hylaea immediately answered. “The Spell-Word Sorcerer will be staying there for four days starting tomorrow to inspect the mega-city’s military facilities. Is that acceptable?”

Sabrinah was participating in an inspection of Vulcan’s military facilities. That was likely a justified reason only possible because she held another personal identity besides her Pandemonium affiliation.

Lennok was silent for a moment, then slowly replied, “Three days from now.”

“……Three days?”

Lennok cut the line without waiting for a reply.

There was no need to explain the reasons in detail. This would at least give the impression that Victor was coming from somewhere other than Vulcan to the meeting place.

The connection of Faud Older, stemming from Ethan Bajour’s necklace. The fact that someone among the project’s participants was murdered in the Military Spirit City, Yorta.

The circumstantial evidence seemed clear: a figure connected to the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade in Yorta had dealt with someone involved in the Black Consumer Project.

‘Madrich Onnion didn’t have much to say about the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade.’

All he could hear from the 8th-level military spirit wizard were the truths about the Black Consumer Project and its harmful consequences. Through Onnion’s Domain, he could glimpse what the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade was, but at the time, he had dismissed it as a failed memory of the past.

Vulcan’s Black Consumer Project. Machina’s Ascension Gate. Yorta’s Hundred Demons’ Night Parade.

But unlike the already failed Ascension Gate, if the [Night Parade] was still ongoing and not yet finished…

Even if he couldn’t head to Yorta immediately, it was best to take action to obtain any available information beforehand.

With that thought, Lennok puffed on his cigarette and unrolled a scroll he had tossed onto the workbench.

He had postponed the meeting for three days, giving him two nights to devote to research.

The unique Radiant-type magic gifted through his deal with Olivera, the clone-based [Radiant Body Mastery]. It required further refinement to be useful in practical combat, not just as a simple illusion.

Among Lennok’s common magic, there were shadow-type common spells that could be integrated with Radiant Body Mastery.

‘If I combine Shadow Scratch and Alpha Light in the right proportions, I can hide the incongruity. And if I mix in a bit of spatial manipulation to transfer the incantation…’

Fizz, crackle…!!

Lennok’s form, leaning against the workbench, blurred into a hazy shadow, distorting in place.

A faint outline, as if present and absent at the same time. Lennok’s appearance, like paint dissolving in water, slowly spread through the space.

A state where he could diffuse and scatter his own appearance without directly dissolving magic into his body.

Lennok looked down at his trembling hand, then immediately unrolled the scroll and began to interpret the incantations of Radiant Body Mastery.

Three days later.

On the day of the promised meeting with Hylaea.

Lennok stood in the ruins near the undeveloped zone, his face obscured by an obsidian mask and draped in a shadow robe.

Walking through the broken streets, now a wasteland of ruins, Lennok slowly halted his steps.

“……”

Someone was watching this place.

From a presence he didn’t recognize, it seemed to be an outsider, not someone from Pandemonium.

Should he act?

If he were in his Van identity, he would have dealt with this cleanly, without even revealing any killing intent, the moment such a thought crossed his mind.

But wearing the Victor mask, there was no reason to conceal his emotions or presence.

“……Ha.”

Lennok slowly turned his head and flicked a finger, and undisguised killing intent flowed out like a mist in all directions.

Killing intent materialized from will-thought, drawn out by a transcendent who had reached a profound state.

There was a reaction.

Someone slowly emerged from the alley behind Lennok.

“I understand what you’re thinking, but please calm down first.”

A bearded man. His voice didn’t sound old, but his appearance wasn’t particularly young either.

He slowly raised both hands, staring at Lennok’s obsidian mask.

“It wasn’t intentional. I apologize. I don’t want to fight.”

Lennok stared at the man silently, then flicked his hand from beneath his robe.

“So, you don’t want to fight, but you’re staring at me like that?”

Whoosh!!

Strands of magic shot out from the air, instantly binding the man’s mouth horizontally.

“Will a better answer come if I tear your mouth open?”

“……!!”

The magic strands rotated near the back of the man’s head, firmly securing his mouth. If Lennok applied full force, the man’s mouth would be cleanly torn open on both sides.

The man’s beard trembled as he realized this fact.

The projection of magic had originated from behind him, making him realize that this entire area was within Lennok’s range.

This was a high-level sorcerer using manipulation spells so unique and lethal they were beyond imagination.

“Clumsy stealth… Your presence, reaction, and speed all have flaws.”

Before the man could say anything, Lennok dismissively lowered his finger.

“It’s so annoying I can barely stand it.”

Simultaneously, dozens of people began to be dragged out from various spots on the street.

Screech!!

Thud, clatter!!

“Waaaah!!”

“Kyaah!!”

People tumbled across the ground as if forcibly grabbed by their collars, or crashed through windows and fell. None of them appeared injured, all being magic users, but they rubbed their bodies with dumbfounded expressions.

They were chilled to the bone by the uncanny sensation of their own limbs moving on their own, crawling towards Lennok.

Lennok stood over the superhumans, now bound by magic strands like sausages and dragged before him, and asked, “If I don’t get an answer next time, I’ll make sure you can never answer again.”

“……Freelancers. We came because we heard there was a unique broker here.”

“Leubert!!”

The startled woman turned to the man, but the man, called Leubert, calmly replied, “They say the fields they handle are different from the city’s brokers, and they issue requests not registered on the Deepweb.”

“……”

“Though unclear origins for requests are suspicious, I needed a lot of money.”

Only after hearing Leubert’s explanation did Lennok understand how they had found this place.

It seemed Hylaea, while staying in Vulcan, was also taking on other requests as a broker, not just Pandemonium assignments. Was she handling Pandemonium’s business in District 21 and other freelancers’ work in the undeveloped zone?

“You’ve already taken a request from that place, haven’t you?” Leubert asked. “We came because we heard rumors, but you have to be cautious about these things, right? We were waiting for a senior who had experience.”

Famous brokers have their demand, and lesser-known ones have theirs. This was the fundamental reason why the freelancer and mercenary industries in this city never rested and were always bustling.

With that thought, Lennok turned and retracted his magic.

Thump!!

As the freed people screamed and became entangled, Lennok, having removed the magic strands from his mouth, spoke coldly, “Get lost.”

“……You seem quite skilled. Would you be interested in working with us?” Leubert, rubbing his neck, subtly asked Lennok. “If a sorcerer like you joined our team, we’d be willing to make significant concessions on the cut—”

Slash!!

At that instant, Leubert’s shoulder armor split vertically and clattered to the ground.

It didn’t stop there; the old commercial building behind Leubert also split horizontally, gaping open.

A flash of light had originated near Leubert’s neck, cutting through the structure behind him and vanishing.

Realizing the meaning of that answer, Leubert obediently shut his mouth.

Lennok’s form had vanished from the spot without a trace.

An abandoned hangar on the outskirts of the undeveloped zone.

It was a material storage area, where the remnants of small aircraft, covered in dust and rust, formed small mountains.

Crash!!

Lennok burst through the hangar door, walking directly towards the nun standing beneath a fragment of an airplane wing.

The nun, who had been curiously touching a propeller, flinched and turned to look at Lennok.

Judging by the eye patch, it was Hylaea’s original personality, who served as her physical vessel. But there was no need to call forth Hylaea’s personality directly to converse.

Stepping forward, a chilling wave of magic instantly pressed down, making the hangar air cold.

Swish…!!

“I clearly said I was coming today, so why are outsiders lurking around here?” Lennok asked, adjusting his obsidian mask as he looked at the hunched nun.

“If you want to spread rumors that Pandemonium’s broker is here, I won’t stop you. But do such idiotic things when I’m not around.”

“Oh, I-I couldn’t help it…” The nun replied to Lennok, doing her best to hide her agitation. “To avoid suspicion and hide my tracks, I really have to do broker work.”

“Avoid suspicion? From whom?”

“Victor, I told you before.” A voice echoed from the back of the hangar.

A woman sat cross-legged, leaning back in the old aircraft cockpit, munching on what looked like snacks. Sabrinah shook her head, looking at Lennok.

“There’s a crazy wizard living in this city, you know? They say you need a good reason not to get caught by him.”

“A crazy wizard?” Lennok questioned, only then realizing it wasn’t referring to someone else. “Adamant Thunder, I mean Adamant Thunder.”

Sabrinah mumbled, shoveling snacks into her mouth. “Haven’t you heard the rumor recently? That wizard actually built a magic tower in this city. If you make one wrong move, you’ll be detected immediately.”

“……”

“They said it’s better to actually run a broker business. Because he’s a former freelancer, he rarely bothers brokers.”

Indeed, even while handling various tasks, he had rarely killed or confronted brokers. While his ill repute spread in various ways, were there still attempts to discern the patterns of his actions?

As Lennok pondered this fresh interpretation, the woman, savoring her snack, eventually smiled with satisfaction.

“Ah, it tastes good after all. Goods sold in big cities like this really are worth the price. Most of the recreational foods sold on the front lines are narcotic, so I can’t even touch them.”

Sabrinah neatly folded her snack bag and stood up. “It’s a shame the atmosphere in Vulcan isn’t more welcoming; I would’ve visited often.”

Lennok looked at her and asked, “For someone who says that, you don’t seem very cautious.”

“Oh, I didn’t come to Vulcan as a Pandemonium member this time,” Sabrinah said, patting her shoulder. An unknown symbol embroidered on her epaulet swayed on her clothes.

Rustling, Sabrinah pulled out another snack and said, “I joined a delegation heading to Vulcan, so I have a proper justification. Relatively safe, you know.”

“……”

A delegation, she said. Come to think of it, Sabrinah had once mentioned belonging to another organization besides Pandemonium. Did she mean she worked for an organization powerful enough to send a direct delegation to Vulcan for exchange, allowing her to gain a legitimate reason to enter the city?

However, instead of replying, Lennok silently observed Sabrinah. There were parts of her explanation that were difficult to accept based solely on what she had just said.

He subtly closed and opened his left eye beneath the mask, and his violet Mystic Eye swirled, focusing on Sabrinah.

Only after perfectly observing Sabrinah’s magic flow through the Mystic Eye did Lennok realize the reason and withdraw his gaze.

“You’re not using Spell-Word magic anymore. Have you completely sealed off that aptitude?”

“What?” Sabrinah stopped munching her snack and looked up at Lennok with a surprised expression. Even the nun, standing precariously in the back of the warehouse, looked at Lennok with a hint of surprise.

But Lennok had clearly confirmed that the magic pattern of the Spell-Word magic Sabrinah used was completely gone. Her established magical hierarchy hadn’t vanished, but the specific spells she used had completely transformed.

“…You’re right. I’m not a Spell-Word Sorcerer anymore.”

Sabrinah, who had been silent, eventually nodded with a slightly flustered expression. “It’s true that I thought I’d be safe in this city because of that. But it wasn’t just because of Adamant Thunder.”

“Then why?”

“Remember the information we traded during the interim settlement?” Sabrinah looked around subtly and said, “The rumor that Ascendant Jinwa is gathering Apostles to become a god himself. Unfortunately… it seems it won’t just end as a rumor.”

“……”

Sabrinah tried not to say it directly, but Lennok immediately understood what she meant. He had seen Jinwa’s orchard beyond the Central Front, using the ability of the Fifth Lighthouse. He had seen with his own eyes what an Ascendant who dreamed of becoming a god was doing, and had returned.

“The power contained in language has many meanings, but among them, propagation and transmission account for no small portion,” Sabrinah explained. “That’s why Spell-Word Sorcerers are particularly susceptible to being influenced by other Spell-Word Sorcerers. What if a 9th-level Spell-Word Sorcerer, who created the continent’s common language and became an Ascendant, were to act?”

“Are you saying you bound your own power to avoid being influenced by the Ascendant?”

She nodded at Lennok’s question. “To be precise, what you said is most accurate. I sealed my own power, binding myself so I can’t use it for the time being.”

Perhaps it meant that, as a fellow Spell-Word Sorcerer, she keenly understood the immense power and pervasive influence Jinwa possessed. That’s why Sabrinah had temporarily sealed her Spell-Word magic, preemptively trying to prevent herself from being influenced by Jinwa’s Spell-Word magic.

“So, I’ve re-employed myself as an information broker. Believe it or not, I know quite a lot of people, so I’m confident in exchanging necessary information.”

“……”

Indeed, she had seemed very interested in similar professions, even requesting an information exchange from Lennok during the interim settlement.

“Well, you probably aren’t very curious about my circumstances anyway. Shall we get to the point?”

Sitting in the cockpit chair, she gestured to Lennok and asked, “You said you needed information about the Hundred Demons’ Night Parade, right?”

“Most of the information about Yorta is excessively old and mostly worthless,” Lennok replied, arms crossed. “Their external activities seem consistent, but for that, the records are strangely scarce.”

“That would be why. From the beginning, the Military Spirit City is a place difficult to visit unless you have the right aptitude.”

“Aptitude?”

“What kind of aptitude would you need for a city of souls?” Sabrinah grinned, pointing to her own eyes with both hands. “You have to be able to see ghosts.”

“……”

“It’s not nonsense; there are truly people with that aptitude. Those friends, without anyone telling them to, just go to the Military Spirit City on their own.”

Sabrinah whispered, “And they never return.”

“Are you planning to tell me ghost stories?”

“It just means it’s a strange place. Just so you know.” Sabrinah added with a laugh. “A few members have been to Yorta for work. They say it’s a bizarre city that doesn’t rely on physical laws, with one foot half-stepped into the spiritual realm.”

“……”

“Observing all the world’s souls and storing curses there is for a similar reason. They say the souls and curses left behind by monsters who have died and vanished, or left their names long, long ago… are still vividly present there.”

Sabrinah’s explanation was as if she intended to frighten him. But Lennok did not react, waiting for her to finish speaking. After all, Lennok knew better than anyone what kind of place the Military Spirit City was, and what secrets it held.

Sabrinah, seeing Lennok’s lack of interest, immediately changed the subject.

“Alright, then let’s make a deal. The item I want to offer you is this. It’s a very tempting item, especially for Manipulation Sorcerers.”

With that, Sabrinah suddenly raised her head and whispered, “Agneta.”

At that moment, the sound of hundreds of threads rubbing against each other came from the seemingly empty air.

Shimmering!!

A faint rustling, like someone walking a tightrope from beyond invisible space. The moment that almost imperceptible sound, barely audible unless one concentrated, disappeared.

“Aha, so you’re the human named Victor.”

A gigantic spider hung from the hangar’s ceiling. She smiled brightly, hanging upside down in the air, looking at Lennok.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve met a talented Manipulation Sorcerer. If it’s alright, shall we start with the transfer of spell knowledge first?”