Chapter 737: Low-Altitude Flight (5)
Giant’s Fortress. The Clown of Pandemonium, encountered in Gillian’s audience chamber.
Seeing that peculiar face painted stark white was virtually the first time since the Well of the Codex incident.
But instead of dwelling on sentiment at the unexpected encounter, Lennok immediately drew upon his mana.
Dozens of thin threads shot down from the air, intersecting around the Clown from different directions.
Whizzzz!
“……?”
The moment the Clown tilted his head, his limbs firmly bound by dozens of mana threads in an instant.
His body tumbled forward, scraping along the floor, and was dragged to Lennok’s feet.
“Ugh!!”
Flopped forward like a frog, the Clown looked up at Lennok with difficulty and grinned.
“……Please be a little gentler. I know you’re happy to see me after so long, but my body isn’t in the best condition.”
“You’ve been saying what I was going to say first for a while now.”
Lennok said, pressing his foot gently on the back of the Clown’s neck.
“Heh-heh-heh.”
Watching the Clown make strange laughing sounds even with his neck pressed down, Lennok shook his head.
“Why are you here? Have you also gotten involved in this matter?”
Through the obsidian mask, Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“If Sabrina was secretly involved, there’s no reason to let it pass easily.”
It was easy to be misled by his light and frivolous demeanor and unpredictable words and actions, but Lennok knew well what kind of being the Clown was.
He wasn’t just mad in a strange way; he was a transcendent-level Illusionist whose power even Lennok found difficult to gauge.
He was a monster who tampered with his own hierarchy, controlling even the madness that inevitably befell Illusionists at will.
His abilities were undoubtedly widely recognized even within Pandemonium, to the extent that he had virtually spearheaded the Well of the Codex operation alone.
If such a significant big shot, one with considerable standing within Pandemonium — enough to be allowed to oversee an entire continent — was here now, it certainly wouldn’t be for a trivial reason.
Lennok instinctively understood that he needed to confirm it right now.
“Um……”
Agneta whispered with difficulty, but Lennok ignored her, just as he was about to press harder with the foot on the Clown.
The Clown stuck out his tongue and tilted his head as if completely unaware.
“Huh? Sabrina was interested in Kabahim’s royalty? That’s news to me.”
“What?”
“Did they discuss it in that strange VR system they supposedly just made? If I’d known I’d be excluded like this, I should have gone in at least once.”
“Victor. The Clown isn’t the type to follow orders or operations in the first place. The Gye-baek Incident was a very special case.”
Agneta explained.
“I just found out the Clown was even near Kabahim.”
“…….”
“Rather, why are you here? Judging by your conduct, I didn’t think you were from the Northern Continent. And Agneta, too.”
“You first.”
“Huh?”
“Why were you ransacking the audience chamber?”
As Lennok tilted his head, the Clown rolled his eyes around before speaking.
“I need biological data from Kabahim’s royalty. So I was urgently searching this fortress.”
“Royalty’s biological data?”
Lennok tilted his head, pulled on the mana threads binding the Clown, and asked,
“I don’t understand. If that’s what you need, why not ask Soryu?”
“That friend was expelled from Kabahim and dropped in the line of succession. What ancient history are you talking about?”
The Clown wriggled his body and replied leisurely.
“The Archduke is the current king’s younger brother, so while he’s high in the line of succession, he’s relatively lax, making him not difficult to approach. Wouldn’t this be much easier than laying hands on the princes?”
“…….”
“Alright, then, won’t you explain why you’re here in the fortress?”
The Clown asked with a wide grin.
Even with his limbs firmly bound by mana threads, his expression seemed filled with unconcealed amusement.
“If we play our cards right, I think we could cooperate.”
Lennok released the mana threads binding the Clown and briefly explained his business.
He needed the key to open Gyro’s Coffer and was looking for the Archduke, who knew its location.
“I see……”
The Clown picked up the chewed-up confection he had spat out and ate it without a care, falling into thought.
No, actually, he was just pretending to be deep in thought, his lips practically twitching with something he wanted to say.
Lennok sat on the audience chamber sofa and watched the Clown’s disgusting antics with a disgusted look.
“Victor, you’ve probably already noticed, but there’s a solution that would satisfy us both.”
“Not at all.”
Despite Lennok’s cold retort, the Clown persisted.
“Cooperate in killing the Archduke. Then I’ll help you find the key!!”
“No.”
“Alright! Then let’s vigorously… Huh?”
The Clown, who had shot up from his seat, stopped mid-raise of his fist and awkwardly turned his head.
Lennok looked at the Clown and said coldly.
“The cost-benefit doesn’t add up. Why should I go to the trouble of killing the Archduke here?”
Gillian, the Archduke of Kabahim, was known to be at least a powerful warrior from a mercenary background.
He was even presumed to be a strong individual who had completed and surpassed his own hierarchy.
Lennok’s task here was not to confront and kill Gillian, but merely to steal the key to the Coffer.
As a Manipulation Wizard, there was no reason to needlessly engage in a troublesome battle here.
“No, well……”
Speechless, the Clown awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Then, let’s reminisce about the good old days at the Well of the Codex, shall we? Can’t we work something out?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Wait, wait, wait!!”
The Clown flopped down and grabbed the leg of Lennok, who had risen mercilessly.
“Then, even just the Archduke’s blood!! You don’t have to kill him, body hair is fine. Or if nothing else, the Archduke’s leg hair!!”
“……You mean you were crawling around on the audience chamber floor just to find body hair?”
At his outrageous behavior and judgment, Lennok asked in disbelief, then collected himself and shook his head.
“It’s pointless. In some cases, it would be even more troublesome and complicated.”
“That, that key. I think I know where it is.”
“I’ll find it myself.”
Knowing that the Clown was completely unaware of the Coffer’s existence and more interested in royal blood than the fortress was enough.
Thinking he no longer needed to be involved with the Clown, Lennok was just about to leave the audience chamber.
“The Colossus Brigade ruins, hidden deep within the Giant’s Fortress.”
The Clown, who had slowly risen from his spot, said,
“I hear it’s filled with ancient and archaeologically valuable artifacts and ruins. If it’s the Coffer key you’re looking for, wouldn’t it be there?”
“…….”
“Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you the way.”
The Clown smiled.
“While I’m making my move, you just need to distract those around us for a moment. I’ll handle the rest myself.”
Not asking to kill Gillian or extract his blood, just to buy some time.
It felt like the shameless Clown’s demands had finally become reasonable.
Rather than trying to gain an advantage by haggling with Lennok, he probably just genuinely wanted to get something for free.
“An Illusionist of your caliber wouldn’t need to borrow help, so why are you needlessly trying to make a deal?”
“After slamming this poor body onto the floor earlier, didn’t you notice anything?”
The Clown made a pitiful expression and flapped his limbs around.
“As you can see, my condition isn’t very good. I can only use a few low-tier illusions. I’m not a Clown, I’m a scarecrow.”
“…….”
Had he not yet recovered from the aftermath of the heavy price paid during the Well of the Codex operation?
No, in that case, quite a lot of time had passed since then.
It was probably more accurate to say that he had undertaken another task in between, abusing his illusions, and was now dealing with the side effects.
As Agneta had said, the Clown was a special asset within Pandemonium who moved as he pleased.
It wasn’t strange if it wasn’t publicly known where he moved or what he sought.
“My eternal heart conduit…… cough cough, if my excellent partner Glenn were here, things might be a bit better. But I can’t always have him accompanying me, can I?”
“…….”
At this point, he didn’t even feel like reprimanding the Clown for his rotten personality.
However, it was a clear fact that the Clown often used Glenn to power up his illusion output.
Now that he claimed his condition wasn’t good, it was also certain that he couldn’t produce that level of output and power.
His mindset and audacity to shamelessly confess his condition or weakness right in front of Lennok were still difficult to understand, but it wasn’t a problem to worry about right now.
“So, where are the ruins?”
Lennok quickly scanned the audience chamber, which the Clown had thoroughly ransacked and turned into a mess, as he asked.
“I’ve already thoroughly searched the fortress basement, but there were no particular traces. Should I look for a hidden space?”
“Ah, that.”
The Clown picked up an ashtray from the table and grinned.
“I’m planning to find out bit by bit, starting now.”
“What?”
“Should we lay that friend down first and then talk again?”
CRA-ACK!
At that moment, the audience chamber door burst open, and someone from outside stepped boldly in.
At the same time, the Clown swung the ashtray he was holding with all his might, as if throwing a baseball.
The heavy ashtray flew with high speed, accurately striking the face of the newly entered opponent.
CRUNCH!!
With a grotesque sound, as if facial bones were caving in, the opponent fell backward with a thud, unable to even scream.
Knights who had followed him in immediately drew their swords upon seeing the sight.
“There’s an intruder in the audience chamber!”
“Some strange clown bastard……!!”
“HYAH!”
Before he could even retort, the Clown vigorously ran through the audience chamber and landed a dropkick squarely on the knight’s face.
The knight’s blade, accurately swung to meet him, pitifully cut through the empty air instead.
CRASH!!
“Urgh!!”
The Clown landed in front of the unbalanced knight and brazenly held out a hand in front of the knight’s eyes.
At that moment, the knight stopped swinging his sword, staring blankly as if caught in an invisible restraint.
“Gotcha~”
SQUELCH!!
He ruthlessly kicked the knight’s groin with his shin, and with an indescribable sound, the knight immediately collapsed.
While Lennok frowned and averted his gaze, the Clown quickly knocked down the other, unharmed knight.
The Clown, who had knocked him out by kicking the fallen knight’s helmet around like a ball, winked at Lennok.
“Bullseye! Would you mind closing the audience chamber door?”
“…….”
The Clown’s surprise attack, immediately striking someone who had suddenly entered the audience chamber.
Even while claiming his condition wasn’t good, could he really toy with two Kabahim knights using only simple illusions?
Lennok, pulling the audience chamber door closed again with mana threads, asked,
“What were you planning to do if there were more people waiting outside?”
“Oh, I cast simple illusions throughout the entire fortress.”
The Clown answered, picking up the blood-stained ashtray from the opponent’s face.
“It’s a spell that dulls people’s basic vigilance, so by now, everyone should be quite insensitive to ordinary disturbances.”
“…….”
No wonder it was strangely easy to enter the fortress and find the audience chamber; it was the result of the Clown’s preparations, then.
The fact that he used a high-level illusion that interfered with perception, against the entire fortress, even with a body supposedly in poor condition.
But instead of needlessly questioning the Clown’s skill, he focused on the opponent trembling on the floor.
A tall, thin man wrapped in red cloth.
It was the 6th Prince of Kabahim, who had come as an envoy of the Order Alliance, lying collapsed.
Having been hit directly in the face by the ashtray, his nose bridge was broken and his jawbone was shattered and crushed.
His skin was already covered in heavy bruises, and sticky blood was oozing from his crushed nostrils.
“This trash is no longer royalty and is useless since he’s dropped in the line of succession, but there’s one thing I need to confirm.”
The Clown said, opening the fallen 6th Prince’s mouth and spitting his saliva into it.
Lennok, seeing that sight, recoiled in disgust and shook his head.
“You only pick disgusting things to do. What have you been doing since earlier?”
“This friend, he touched the refreshments earlier when he came in.”
The Clown said, flipping up the 6th Prince’s eyelids.
“I roughly mixed the bodily fluids left on the leftover refreshments with my mana, and created a new illusion using that as a catalyst.”
“So you weren’t just giving a pointless meaning to picking up and eating chewed-up refreshments?”
At the point he said he’d make a deal with Lennok about the ruins’ location, he hadn’t actually known the way.
He planned to interrogate the 6th Prince who was approaching the audience chamber and immediately obtain that information?
His audacity for such a baseless deal and idea was astonishing, but considering who he was dealing with, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable.
“The 6th Prince is a spellcaster of the Order Alliance. He would have considerable resistance to interrogation spells that force information out.”
Lennok asked.
“Can you extract the information before his mind collapses?”
If he used his Mystic Eye, Lennok could also extract information by crushing memories or minds, but if the opponent had a certain level of resistance, more preparation was needed.
If done carelessly, the spellcaster’s mind could collapse before the desired information was extracted, so it was something that needed to be used carefully, judging its success rate.
In this kind of interrogation, Lennok preferred to attempt it only after pushing the target’s mind into a corner and breaking their will.
After immediately crushing the prince’s face like this, attempting to extract information right away would mostly result in failure.
“Not many people can withstand pleasure, not pain. Especially those who grew up in strict environments like royalty.”
But the Clown replied leisurely to Lennok’s words.
“If you gently loosen their repressed parts and implant a sense of stability that things are going as they wish, even if it’s fake, they’ll believe it for a very short while.”
The Clown, who held the prince’s head up with one hand, smiled.
“Illusions are tranquilizers born from such desires.”
“…….”
“The location of the Colossus Brigade ruins. The way there. Please explain it very kindly, as if you’re guiding your own father~”
No sooner had he finished speaking, the 6th Prince’s mouth slowly opened.
“Walking along the outer wall…… seven steps…… the fifth block…… the eye…… as I heard from my uncle, usually……”
The words came out intermittently and broken, but it was enough to understand the context to some extent.
Lennok compared the information that came from the prince’s mouth with the Giant’s Fortress structure he had already memorized, and nodded.
“This much is enough.”
“Then, can we assume we’re working together now?”
“I’ll indulge your trivial antics a little.”
WHIP!
He tied the unconscious 6th Prince by the neck and threw him out the audience chamber window, leaving him hanging.
This should be enough to draw attention while a commotion brews.
While the Clown whistled, Lennok, who had quickly finished his actions, turned to leave.
Kicking open the audience chamber door and stepping out into the empty corridor, Lennok asked,
“So, what’s the plan now?”
“I’ll go as I told you earlier.”
The Clown, who had followed him out, slowly stretched his body and lightly patted his waist.
Two gently curved daggers, a deck of cards, and a few talismans of unknown use.
“I’ll start, and I just ask for your appropriate cooperation. If you finish roughly, you can go ahead.”
“I’ll decide that on my own, without you telling me. What’s important is the timing of the start.”
Lennok retorted.
“Without a clear signal, it’s hard to perceive that we’re both moving. Especially since, by your own admission, you’re in a position where it’s hard to react flexibly, aren’t you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. The preparations are already complete.”
The Clown smiled.
“Since the Well of the Codex members are reunited after so long, how can we not have some fun?”
“I don’t think fun is important in this matter.”
Despite Lennok’s cold response, the Clown paid no mind and raised one hand.
“Victor, don’t be like that. That doesn’t suit us very well.”
A small panel with a thin switch protruding. The red color of that button was especially ominous.
The moment Lennok realized it felt similar to a bomb detonator.
The Clown pressed the switch hard, and the audience chamber from which they had just walked out exploded entirely.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
An immense flash and roar. Scorching heat surged skyward, forming a mushroom cloud.
A hot blast swept through the corridors in all directions, melting everything in its vicinity.
The Clown, who had completely blown away the vital spot where the lord resided—the audience chamber on the top floor of the Giant’s Fortress—grinned widely.
“So I’ll make it a bit more fun.”
“…….”
While Lennok silently looked down at the chaotic fortress courtyard, Agneta quietly mumbled,
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come along……”