Chapter 766: One-Man Show (18)
Balitz Corp.’s internal security database.
An extremely old video encountered within the network, accessed by seizing Prescott’s terminal.
Was it a video from when the Papal Seat visited Vulcan for the first and last time?
Though he had never heard the term “Papal Seat” itself before, Lennok could easily guess what it implied.
It probably referred to the elite group within the cult that assists the Pontiff.
Perhaps it was even a name given to a concept intended to represent the Pontiff’s will.
But Lennok knew that even a fleeting thought about the cult’s organizational structure couldn’t last long.
Beyond the terminal screen, flickering as if about to explode.
From the very edge of the unpleasant noise that burst through the screen and filled the entire studio.
The Pontiff, who had already turned his gaze towards this side, was looking at Lennok.
“……”
A face obscured beyond the veil, as if smudged with paint, invisible.
A lifeless, slumped form resembling a corpse on a pure white throne, and pale skin crumbling with cracks.
Like his pathetic appearance, where it was uncertain if he was even breathing, the voice from beyond the screen was also extremely faint and unstable.
Yet, despite that, Lennok was solely focused on the Pontiff’s essence, more than his dying appearance.
‘Changed, yet unchanged……’
The terminal screen. The old video. The sense of detachment blurred by noise.
The overwhelming presence of a Transcendent beyond comprehension, piercing through all those barriers.
Even if his form changes, even if the time and place of encounter vary, he remains the same.
All traces of the Pontiff left in past memories and records are as good as the Pontiff himself.
Can it be called a way of existence, entrusted to the beliefs and worship of others, allowed to humans?
That choice, which even Transcendants attempting ascension dare not consider, paradoxically makes the Pontiff seem even more dangerous and detached.
As if risking annihilation at every moment of his existence in this world.
That choice, as if walking on a knife-edge every single moment.
Would it be a coincidence if it seemed similar to Lennok’s chosen way of life?
Just as Lennok hesitated when the encounter, which reached its peak after killing Amrita in the cult’s Far Eastern branch, now continued in an unexpected form.
[It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?]
The Pontiff, glancing down at himself, opened his mouth.
[A memory from a time when I still had reasons to remain in the secular world… a shameful appearance of myself, having repeated mistakes.]
“……”
The Pontiff spoke as if teasing Lennok.
[It’s not a sight I particularly want to show. Especially not to you.]
Did that mean the Pontiff’s consciousness was still present in this world when the video was made?
Surely the Pontiff hadn’t relied on others’ memories and records for his existence from the very beginning.
The moment Lennok realized this fact and quickly recalled his memories, the Transcendent let out a faint chuckle from beyond the veil.
[It is truly ironic. What one desires doesn’t come in time, and what one awaits only arrives after losing its meaning… yet, one cannot let go.]
“……You.”
[But even such an encounter has meaning. What was impossible long ago is now possible.]
His words held so much meaning that it was difficult to grasp their full import after just one listen.
Whether this overlapping and confounding of ambiguous meanings was intentional on the Pontiff’s part, or conversely, a side effect of his self-chosen outcome.
Either way, Lennok couldn’t find the answer immediately.
So Lennok decided to speak his thoughts first.
“If you knew what was happening outside and still didn’t refuse this confrontation, there must be a reason. I know that.”
The fact that Balitz Corp. had video data of the Pontiff.
And the fact that Lennok, while writing his thesis, came into contact with it while trying to obtain it, was no coincidence.
If there was a reason for this perplexing encounter, which seemed to have no point of contact at all.
Lennok was convinced it was due to a single ‘motive’ shared by both him and the Pontiff.
“The Magic Flow Recreation Module produced by Balitz Corp.”
Beyond the quiet studio, only Lennok’s voice softly echoed.
“It’s no coincidence that you designed and ordered it.”
[……]
The Pontiff did not answer.
With a faint presence that seemed about to vanish at any moment, he merely waited there for Lennok’s words.
It felt as if he already knew what Lennok would ask, yet specifically wanted to hear the words directly.
But Lennok knew there was a question he had to ask, even knowing this.
“If what you and I desired once overlapped in this world…”
Lennok, after pondering, asked.
“Was it because what I was thinking, you also once attempted?”
Lennok’s fundamental reason for seeking the Magic Flow Recreation Module was that it was necessary to complete his third thesis.
But if the Pontiff had ordered and tried to produce it a long time ago, what was his motive?
This strange coincidence where Lennok and the Pontiff’s desires overlapped.
Lennok was asking if the outcome he desired for his thesis was something the Pontiff had once tried to achieve ahead of him.
“The pretense was for a life support device, but that wouldn’t have been the real purpose. You wouldn’t have clung to that kind of remaining life.”
The method the Pontiff chose to exist in this world was an anomaly, transcending physical and mental forms.
Considering that, it was unlikely he ordered the module to create a life support device.
Perhaps he, like Lennok, had an urgent task and borrowed Balitz Corp.’s help to attempt it.
If that long-forgotten data was now unearthed by Lennok’s hands and revealed itself.
“Did you achieve the desired results using it?”
Perhaps the success or failure of the third thesis could be immediately confirmed here and now.
That’s why Lennok thought it was worth risking and verifying with the Pontiff here.
[……]
The Pontiff gazed at Lennok for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze towards the other side of the video.
Only the flickering noise beyond the veil suggested the direction of his gaze.
No further information was given to Lennok, but still, Lennok instinctively felt that the Pontiff held complex emotions regarding that question.
The pure white throne where the Pontiff sat. Thousands of followers serving him beneath the veil.
[Well… I don’t quite remember if it had meaning.]
The Pontiff, who had silently gazed at his followers for a long time, said.
[To look back and remember all those moments, I have already passed through too many failures.]
“……”
He trailed off, but what the Pontiff implied was certainly not close to success.
Didn’t it mean that the Pontiff himself had already made an attempt and obtained a result close to failure?
[But comparing what I attempted with what you are about to do… that act is meaningless.]
As if reading Lennok’s thoughts, the Pontiff spoke softly.
[Because the time we have passed through is not the same. Even if the same question is asked, a different answer will inevitably return. That difference is the value we should pity above all else.]
Meaning that even if the same thing is planned and attempted, the results can differ.
A strange answer, implying that unlike the Pontiff’s failure, Lennok’s outcome might be different.
[Because we are not the same yet try to become the same, and we do not desire to empathize yet try to. We must reconcile uncontrollable contradictions.]
As Lennok pondered this, the Pontiff’s voice turned endlessly cold.
[For that, isn’t it not necessarily a bad thing to mislead the truth… ]
“……What?”
[It’s a pathetic excuse, but I didn’t trust myself enough.]
From beyond the veil, a chilling gaze turned back to Lennok.
[So I applied somewhat harsh standards to others as well.]
“Is that… why you’re answering the question?”
The Pontiff chuckled.
[Yes. Even if one tries to deceive with hollow lies, too much time has passed for our answers not to overlap.]
“……”
As Lennok fell silent, the scenery in the video slowly began to collapse.
The old video within Balitz Corp.’s security network.
As soon as the video playback ended, this space too would disappear.
Perhaps the video existing within the network would never open again after this.
The moment Lennok instinctively felt this and sharply looked up.
[I know what you intend to do, but I won’t stop you. For you might obtain something different from what I did.]
The Pontiff said so, slowly wiggling his finger.
The moment his crumbling, cracked fingertips gently caressed the armrest of the throne.
Thousands of followers assisting the Pontiff beyond the video all turned their heads and looked at Lennok simultaneously.
[If what you seek is not far off, you will soon meet one of my failures.]
At the apex of the countless procession of followers worshipping him, the Pontiff smiled weakly.
[Even if it’s not the meeting you so desired… Huhu, I wish you well.]
Gwooooo…!
The same eerie scene as when he first encountered the Pontiff in his memories.
That sense of strangeness, as if forcibly filling the gaze between Lennok and the Pontiff.
Just after Lennok felt that discomfort and was about to open his mouth to say something.
Pazzzzt…!
Boom!
The terminal broadcasting the video exploded on the spot and completely shut down.
[Heh, hex… T-This is my limit, Master…]
Davi, slumped with her head on Lennok’s shoulder, murmured weakly.
The data overload rapidly spiked the moment the Pontiff began to act with his own will from beyond the record.
Davi had somehow suppressed it with the power of the Dream State Electro-Intent Mirror, buying Lennok enough time to have a conversation.
[Even with the Domain, I can no longer suppress the output overload…]
“…No. This is enough. You did well.”
Originally, without the power of the Cybernetic Spirit, it would have been impossible to infiltrate the network like this and obtain Balitz Corp.’s cooperation.
Lennok knew that Davi would never cut corners or make excuses in such matters.
Lennok, stroking Davi’s head as she transformed into a giant fox, slowly set down the broken terminal and stood up.
The quiet studio scene, littered with unconscious Balitz Corp. officials and damaged facilities.
Only the snowflake-like scattering of blue polyhedral particles and the Cybernetic World landscape connected through them revealed the traces of the Domain.
Whooooong…!
Lennok slowly withdrew his mana, canceling the Domain, and took out his phone.
In the messenger, filled with unread messages, a new one had arrived at some point.
[If you have seen the video, I believe you now understand the conduct of the Papal Seat at that time.]
“……”
A nuance implying that the video naturally explained the relationship between Balitz Corp. and the cult.
But Lennok, absorbed in conversation with the Pontiff within the record, hadn’t properly checked the video’s content.
From the start, due to the Pontiff’s self-aware existence beyond the video, the record itself hadn’t functioned normally.
Nevertheless, the continuing message contained content that surely piqued Lennok’s interest.
[We possess a prototype based on the module ordered by the Papal Seat. If you wish to examine the item, please visit us anytime.]
“A prototype, huh…”
[The Vice President will be waiting.]
-Balitz Corp. Strategy Planning Team 2 Leader. Dante Clarkston
This person was probably the Balitz Corp. official who had just spoken directly to Lennok within the internal security network.
The very individual who was aware of the video’s existence from the Papal Seat’s visit to Vulcan and decided to show it directly to Lennok here.
Did he know how dangerous this data was, or what value it held as an asset?
Lennok thought it was unlikely.
‘If he knew it was a record capable of communicating with the Pontiff, he wouldn’t have used it so casually.’
Lennok picked up the remnants of the terminal, lost in thought.
‘It probably wasn’t a system that reacted every time the video was played either. If the Pontiff only revealed his presence at moments he desired…’
Ultimately, it must be correct to assume that the Pontiff didn’t refuse this encounter because Lennok himself viewed the video.
If he thought Lennok might achieve something different, unlike his own failure.
Then there was no need to hesitate in completing the third thesis right now.
“…Good.”
Murmuring that, Lennok extended his mana thread and began to drag Prescott along.
He took the car keys from the unconscious agent’s pocket, found the car parked outside the studio, and immediately got in.
Throwing the slumped Prescott into the back seat, Lennok sat in the driver’s seat and inserted the car key.
Davi, who had climbed into the passenger seat, plugged one of her five tails into the dashboard and said,
[Clarkston, that organic sent the coordinates separately. Shall I set the direction now?]
“Go ahead. Let’s go meet the Balitz Corp. official right away.”
Lennok started the engine, checked the direction, and nodded to Davi.
Perhaps the necessary prototype production process could be significantly expedited.
“I’ll have to confirm what kind of object the Pontiff made using the module.”