Chapter 734: Low-Altitude Flight (2)

“As the Lighthouses established by the Eyes of Blue across the world gained fame, rumors began to circulate about the next predicted candidate location.”

Sabrina explained.

“The Giant’s Fortress is the most prominent candidate among them, and it’s a very sensitive border region in the Northern Continent right now. Especially in a chaotic situation like the current one.”

The sixth Lighthouse, being constructed around the world for the Lighthouse Keeper’s unique abilities.

Was Lapis reactivating her efforts and moving to establish a new Lighthouse?

The fact that Sabrina knew this information was surprising, but Lennok had something else he needed to confirm first.

“I wasn’t aware that Kabahim’s Archduke had accepted the Observer’s mantle. Is this Gillian the core of this incident?”

Though he had never visited directly, Lennok had some knowledge of what kind of country Kabahim was.

A nation of knights who served their king, specializing in training exceptional physical ability users.

Unlike most forces on the continent that had established themselves as self-reliant city-states, Kabahim was one of the very few nations that maintained its territory.

If someone held the ducal title in Kabahim, where nobles existed, they would undoubtedly be an immense power.

Could it be that such a being existed, yet Lennok had never once met him under his Evan identity?

‘I think I heard some Observer names during the Hanghasa Labyrinth operation, but…’

Lennok had casually dismissed and forgotten them, only remembering that such names existed.

He knew nothing specific about them or their backgrounds.

“From the way things are unfolding, it seems he only held the title of Observer and barely engaged in any activities.”

Sabrina twirled her hair as she replied.

“Gillian is the Kabahim King’s only younger brother, a noble who inherited a ducal title, but he lived on battlefields from a young age, associating with mercenaries.”

“……”

“He was treated as an outcast by the royal family until he became known as a war hero and then returned. Perhaps that’s why he has almost no official activities. We have no way of knowing the internal reasons of the Eyes of Blue for him becoming an Observer, but it’s probably a Divine Sight connection, wouldn’t you say?”

A war hero akin to a mercenary. A recluse with a ducal title who rarely engaged in activities.

And the master of the fortress who obtained the ruins of the Colossus Brigade.

While Lennok was deep in thought about him, Sabrina lightly clapped her hands, drawing his attention.

“Anyway, the important thing is that the Giant’s Fortress holds the key to Gyro’s Coffer. The fortress’s defenses are strict, manned by high-level knights, making it difficult to breach with an ordinary selection of personnel.”

Sabrina continued.

“Infiltration, stealth, escape, and combat ability for emergencies. If you consider each separately, there are those who excel, but there’s almost no one who can do all of it alone, right?”

Superhumans who excel in all three fields—infiltration, combat, and theft—are rare even within Pandemonium.

The very possibility of such a feat implies either truly specialized abilities or individuals so monstrous that they treat such inconveniences as minor.

That’s why Sabrina entrusted this mission to Victor, a manipulation wizard with extremely rare traits within the organization.

For instance, Agneta, a manipulation wizard similar to Victor, wasn’t accustomed to combat, making it difficult for Sabrina to find suitable talent.

“Victor, you’ve stolen from JeByeok in Kaiushyu, and you even moved with The Clown in the Well of the Codex, right? At that level, you’ll survive no matter how things go.”

“If Kabahim’s fortress is the target, there should be someone more suitable in Pandemonium.”

Lennok leaned against a broken airplane wing fragment and asked.

“Why entrust this to someone else when Soryu is available?”

Soryu, one of Pandemonium’s members.

A Kabahim royal, an innate cryokinetic who inherited their bloodline ability.

He was also a skilled individual with a meticulous and cruel personality, who nearly succeeded in conquering JeByeok in Kaiushyu.

Having been exiled from the royal succession ceremony, he would know the internal structure of the royal capital better than anyone.

What could be the reason for entrusting this task to Lennok instead of him?

“Of course, I asked Soryu first. As soon as I got the coffer, I inquired about that very matter.”

Sabrina clicked her tongue, as if disappointed.

“But he said he couldn’t touch the royal capital’s treasures, regardless of his own will. He claimed he already had more than enough from his inheritance.”

“……”

Was this the feeling one got when hearing a rich kid complain?

“He even said, ‘If you need to kill or assassinate any Kabahim royals, call me.’”

It was almost surprising how little Soryu had changed from Lennok’s memories.

Thinking about it, Soryu himself seemed to dislike his own birthright.

Perhaps it wasn’t due to lingering affection for Kabahim, but rather that the act of laying hands on treasure was simply impossible for someone of royal status.

Since Soryu wasn’t here, thinking further was pointless speculation.

Quickly gathering his thoughts, Lennok stood up and said,

“I understand. From now on, I’ll handle it.”

Unlike the snow-laden Hanghasa Labyrinth, Kabahim’s territory is located in a relatively warm mountain region of the Northern Continent.

Rugged terrain where various mountain ranges and cliffs spread in all directions, acting like unworked castle walls.

“Done.”

Lennok, wrapped in a thick shadow robe, straightened his back and stood up.

Inside a dense forest where not an inch ahead could be seen, hidden by lush trees and bushes.

In a small clearing between branches and leaves, a magic circle was inscribed, just large enough for one person to stand in.

It was so densely packed with symbols and signs that there seemed to be no room to step.

After quickly verifying the magic circle’s activation sequence and logical structure, Lennok murmured,

“This should be enough.”

The Northern Continent was a remote area where Lennok’s accumulated foundation or identity advantages held no sway.

Taking out insurance for unforeseen circumstances was a very familiar practice for Lennok.

After meticulously finishing and mana-preserving the circle, Lennok adjusted his mask and moved forward.

The fortress district, which he reached via train to the Kabahim border with Davi’s help.

Considering the range covered by his mana sense, he should be getting a response by now.

Closing his eyes, he took a breath, calmly filtering out any anomalies in his sensory range, then opened his eyes.

“……Found it.”

The moment he turned his senses into the secluded depths of the forest, he felt an invisible barrier obstructing his path.

Something undoubtedly present, though neither seen nor felt.

Quickly grasping the barrier’s structure, Lennok stroked his chin, lost in thought.

“They’ve completely removed physical resistance, instead maximizing detection capabilities to their extreme. That’s quite confident of them…”

Powerful high-tier barriers inherently guarantee a certain level of resistance and physical force upon construction.

Yet, the basic defensive capabilities of such a high-tier barrier had been modified, redirecting all of it towards detection.

A barrier used strictly for perimeter surveillance. Instead of blocking outsiders, the attitude implied that detection alone was sufficient, exuding considerable confidence.

‘I’d like to try approaching as Evan, but realistically, that would be difficult.’

The authority Lapis granted Evan was the operational authority of the fifth Lighthouse.

Moreover, the Giant’s Fortress was an uncharted territory, not yet officially designated as a Lighthouse.

If he used his Evan identity to simplify things at this point, there was a risk of creating unnecessary complications.

Lennok thought so and looked back with a cold gaze.

“How long do you plan to watch?”

“……Oh, you knew?”

At that moment, Agneta slowly descended from the empty air on a strand of spider silk.

Hanging upside down on the silk, Agneta gave an awkward smile.

“I intended to follow you quietly. You could have told me you knew beforehand.”

“If you have something to say, say it now. Once we’re inside the fortress, there won’t be time for this.”

Lennok retorted irritably.

“Or did Sabrina tell you to monitor my movements?”

“No, not that. It’s just that I’m accompanying you on this mission.”

“What?”

“I heard from The Clown that you’re really skilled, right? I’ll just watch quietly from the side.”

Agneta, pointing confidently at herself, smiled brightly.

“To be honest, I’m curious to see how a fellow manipulation wizard fights.”

“……No.”

Lennok, who had been silent, replied coldly.

“I have no intention of dragging a spectator along.”

As he channeled mana, a heavy pressure pressed down on the spider’s body from all directions.

Whoosh!!

Agneta’s expression subtly contorted as she perceived the strong killing intent contained within that mana.

“Step aside before I sever your legs.”

“Eek… I didn’t expect this reaction.”

The spider mumbled in distress instead of flinching at Lennok’s sharp words.

It wasn’t because Agneta was unfamiliar with Victor’s temperament, or lacked confidence in her combat abilities.

From the start, she was confident she could take care of herself, no matter what happened here.

Her role as Pandemonium’s messenger itself was proof that she freely traversed all sorts of perilous and rough lands on the continent.

While her direct combat abilities might be a little lacking, she likely had a knack for evasion and escape by transiting through imaginary dimensions.

“I think I misphrased that. I’m not just accompanying you on this mission purely out of my own interest.”

Agneta, who had been contemplating, hanging upside down in the air, reorganized her thoughts and spoke again.

“Since you didn’t immediately receive the subspace spellcasting technique, someone needs to keep the coffer safe.”

“Keep the coffer safe?”

“Once you find the key in the fortress, we need to compare it to Sabrina’s coffer to see if it’s a match, don’t we?”

Agneta stated as if it were obvious.

“Nearly ten coffers have been officially discovered, so there’s a very slight chance the key won’t match.”

“……”

“As I mentioned before, if Gyro’s Coffer is left out for too long, it’ll run away on its own, so if we don’t confirm it right then and there, it’ll become troublesome.”

“Once I have the key, I’ll give you a signal.”

Lennok said immediately.

“At that time, follow me into the fortress and take out the coffer. That should be enough, right?”

“Eek, that…”

She said that, but it seemed her greater desire was to watch Lennok’s manipulation spellcasting from the side.

Agneta grumbled in thought for a while, then clapped her hands as if a good idea had struck her.

“Ah, then how about this?”

With that, she abruptly opened her subspace and pulled out a new item.

It was a small cocoon-like object, seemingly made by bunching thin spider silk.

Agneta held it in one hand and confidently extended it, saying,

“I’ll give you this if you let me follow you.”

“……What is this?”

“It’s something I made when I was bored, but it’s surprisingly useful. Everyone loves it. You’d probably be able to handle it best in Pandemonium.”

“……”

Lennok gazed at the gift Agneta offered.

Though his expression couldn’t be seen properly due to the mask, his earlier cold aura quickly subsided.

Instead, he seemed more intrigued by Agneta’s gift.

As soon as he understood what Agneta’s item was, he fully realized its value.

“Hmm. I see. This would indeed be very helpful…”

“It’s good, right?”

“Yes. Not bad.”

Lennok snatched it from Agneta’s hand, put it in his pocket, and asked,

“Bring more if you have them. I’ll pay you whatever it’s worth.”

“No, it’s not something I can just churn out like that.”

Agneta waved her hand, looking troubled.

“I can only make them when I truly have time. I’m giving this to you with a lot of consideration. Even the Director asks for them sometimes.”

“The Director?”

“Yeah.”

Regardless of Agneta’s somewhat unhinged personality, she wouldn’t lie.

Having heard that much, Lennok immediately turned and walked away.

Adjusting the shadow robe pulled up to his head, Lennok said without looking back,

“I won’t pay you any special mind, so hide and avoid detection on your own. Understood?”

“That’s what I do best.”

He hadn’t expected Agneta to accompany him, but there was no need to worry about it now.

Most importantly, if it was the item she gifted him, there was a high possibility that the mission would unfold much more easily than anticipated.

Considering that, letting Agneta observe this operation was no difficult matter.

“Let’s go.”

Kiiing!!

The moment Lennok channeled mana and simultaneously touched the barrier before him with his bare hands.

Mana threads began to weave and intersect over the intangible barrier, which couldn’t even be properly grasped.

Crackle, crackle, crackle…!!

Following Lennok’s hand movements, the mana threads pierced the barrier’s surface like loose threads, slowly creating cracks as if tearing open a wound.

The outer wall opened along the mana sutures that stitched the barrier, but there was no change whatsoever in the overall flow of the barrier.

Such delicate precision, manipulating the barrier from the outside so openly, yet without interfering with its detection in the slightest.

Watching from the side, Agneta exclaimed in admiration, realizing that the principle was something she had shown him once before.

“Spatial splicing used in subspace spellcasting. You’ve already mastered the trick and can use it to dismantle barriers?”

“I understood the trick of opening and closing the entrance the moment I saw it. Applying it to barrier splicing and rupture isn’t difficult.”

Lennok replied, slowly widening the sutures to open the crack in the barrier.

Creak…!!

A narrow gap, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.

Lennok, squeezing his shoulder through and crossing without being detected by the barrier, lightly adjusted his robe and said,

“The important thing is to connect mana threads inside the dislocated space and keep it from repairing itself. That seems like something that will require seeing it a few more times.”

“If you can do this much after seeing it once, you’ll be able to do that very soon.”

Agneta, who had followed him inside the barrier, muttered as she watched Lennok reseal the barrier from within, as if curious.

“So there was a reason you refused to receive the spellcasting transmission. I just thought you were completely off your rocker, like The Clown—”

“Stop talking nonsense and move.”

Lennok said, after neatly connecting the cracked outer and inner walls of the barrier.

“They might have noticed an abnormality in the barrier over there, but they won’t have figured out where the problem occurred.”

Lennok channeled mana as he looked at the spire in the distance, visible beyond the bushes.

“It’s enough time to steal the key and get out.”

Thwip!!

As he hooked a mana thread onto a tree and pulled, Lennok’s body shot through the branches, rapidly advancing.

The sight of the massive fortress, built along the valley that opened through dense foliage.

On the soaring spires, a massive concentration of condensed will-thought rotated, casting its gaze in all directions.

While Lennok pulled up his robe and concealed his presence, Agneta also faded from view, as if blurring.

She was probably relying on her manipulation spellcasting, tightroping in an imaginary dimension.

Thinking that far, Lennok immediately extended a mana thread and ascended the river flowing right beside him.

Splash!!

A shadow figure walking backward on the flowing water. As he traversed upstream against the valley’s current, the old castle’s aqueduct soon came into view.

The structure was designed with deep ditches dug around the old castle, through which the valley’s water flowed to fill the moats above and below.

Thwack!!

Holding a mana thread in one hand and pressing the other against the aqueduct wall, he moved slowly.

He could use blink, but there would likely be guards near the aqueduct.

ROAR!!!

Though difficult to hear over the sound of water, his mana sense clearly detected presences patrolling nearby.

Leaning against the aqueduct, Lennok flicked his finger, and a mana thread shot from his sleeve, bouncing off the wall.

Splash!!

It coiled around the ankle of a knight patrolling the upper passage, pulling him down to hit his head on the ground.

Before he could react, Lennok wrapped mana threads around him a few more times and quickly pulled from several directions.

Crack, crack!!

“……!!”

The impact crushed the knight’s shoulder and neck. His eyes were already completely rolled back, unconscious.

Only then did Lennok emerge from below the aqueduct, rubbing his stiff shoulder as he looked around.

No sign of anyone else noticing yet. This meant he could use manipulation spellcasting within his line of sight without issues.

But what captured Lennok’s attention more was the view inside the castle, which he had entered via the aqueduct.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE…!!

All the facilities of the castle were shaking as if alive.

The corridor where the unconscious guard leaned, the ceiling illuminated by lamps, the location of the distant staircase. Even the direction of the aqueduct flowing beneath his feet.

Some parts clearly visible even to the naked eye, others so faint that only his mana sense could barely perceive the changes.

But it was clear that all the castle’s facilities were moving as if interconnected.

‘There was a reason why the Eyes of Blue intended to make this place the sixth Lighthouse…’

All new Lighthouses created using the Lighthouse Keeper’s ability required hidden realms possessing powerful mystique.

None of the other Lighthouses Lennok knew were built in ordinary or insignificant places.

The very fact that the Eyes of Blue considered Gillian’s fortress a candidate for the sixth Lighthouse was proof of how special its environment and conditions were.

[What are you going to do?]

Agneta’s voice echoed faintly in his ears like a distant reverberation.

She seemed full of interest, as if this situation was even more exciting than expected.

“Calculating everything isn’t my style.”

Lennok replied coldly to Agneta, quickly organizing his thoughts.

Now that he had successfully infiltrated the fortress, there was no need to waste time.

Acting according to Victor’s temperament here would expedite matters greatly.

Lennok pointed a finger at the forehead of another knight who had just spotted him at the end of the corridor.

“I’m going to blast through everything.”