Chapter 796: Betrayal and Fanaticism (3)
A sudden situation: the Grand Arbitrator, who should have been residing on the first underground level, burst out, destroying the tower, and was now confronting the Myriad Ghost.
But Lennok felt his attention drawn more to the transaction the Arbitrator had mentioned.
‘A transaction between the Papal See and the Court of Soul Pacification…’
Evidence that two groups, which should have had no connection whatsoever, had made a deal regarding the corpse of an Ascendant, located within the Infinite Void.
Why had the Pontiff kept Dorye’s corpse within the Infinite Void, and why had Yorta accepted that proposal?
Why was the Arbitrator, who was supposed to be testing the living beings entering Yorta, here now?
The reason for helping Lennok would also be explained if he accepted the offer.
Meanwhile, the Myriad Ghost also recognized the other’s presence and asked in a chilling voice.
“Oris, Grand Arbitrator. What is the meaning of this?”
The boy called Oris grinned as he replied.
The Ghost Shark, swimming in the surging river below his feet, let out a powerful snort.
[Whoosh!]
“I can’t always tolerate the ghosts living downstairs. Sometimes, it’s necessary to inform them that there are stray spirits clinging around here.”
“…”
While fighting the Myriad Ghost, Lennok had been breaking through the tower’s floor, descending towards the ground.
The repercussions had reached the first underground level, and the Grand Arbitrator had also noticed the commotion in the tower.
The overflowing water now flooding the tower’s surroundings must have been the Headrain River, which originally flowed through the Grand Judgment Chamber, overflowing its banks.
Although it was unclear why the Grand Arbitrator had decided to intervene at this moment, Lennok’s presence certainly seemed to have influenced that decision.
The Myriad Ghost also seemed to sense this, slowly turning its body towards Oris.
“Your exile to the first underground level was a just verdict, holding you accountable for the failure of the Night Parade.”
The white-haired youth glared at the boy and spoke.
“You chose to judge the living beings who come to Yorta, and now you mean to betray that duty?”
“Betrayal? Who decides it’s betrayal? I have never once submitted to the Court of Soul Pacification’s decision.”
Oris laughed loudly in response.
“It wasn’t betrayal; I simply did what I had to do, and I failed only because my power was insufficient.”
“…”
“I was always ready to try again and reclaim my position whenever the opportunity arose. So—”
The boy pointed directly at Lennok and said.
“I’ll be taking him.”
“He spied on the hidden shame left in the Infinite Void and insulted the great spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification. That sin must be fully repaid by offering the fate of a living being.”
The Myriad Ghost’s expression turned chilling.
“A traitor who abandoned the Night Parade dares to defy the Court of Soul Pacification’s judgment now?”
“There’s only one thing I have to say about that.”
Oris picked his nose and sneered.
“I don’t care.”
“…Then, here and now, the sins of the traitor who abandoned the Night Parade shall also be settled!!”
As the Myriad Ghost spoke and raised its hand, the Military Spirits of the Memorial Tower began to tear themselves away and coil around its hands.
The moment the Military Spirits’ aura rotated and condensed at high speed, transforming into the shape of two massive spear-halberds.
The Arbitrator, as if he had been waiting, also raised his hand and spoke.
“Don’t posture, Incarnation of the Infinite Void. What could a spirit that wasn’t even there possibly know to spout such nonsense?”
“…”
“A false proxy, thinking that power is entirely its own. If it’s just dealing with a gatekeeper, modified to protect the Infinite Void, from this far away…”
Oris smirked and muttered.
“It’s more than enough to handle lightly and then escape.”
“How arrogant for a prisoner trapped beneath the tower!”
The Myriad Ghost’s face twisted ferociously as it shouted.
“I’ll break that habit of yours, so you never crawl out onto the surface again!!”
Shwiiing!!
The moment the ghostly spear-halberd in the Myriad Ghost’s hand struck down, Oris, as if he had been waiting, also unleashed his power.
As the Ghost Shark thrashed its fins, the river surged violently and froze, transforming into a solid shield.
The two spear-halberds of Military Spirits struck directly against the ice shield, clashing violently.
[Kiiiaaaak!!]
With an ear-splitting scream, heavy shockwaves erupted in all directions.
Paaang!!
The river that filled the lower levels of the Memorial Tower was pushed back, creating massive waves that then filled the corridors and adjacent rooms with water.
Swishhhh!!
“Hahahahat!!”
Two ghostly figures crisscrossed amidst the surging waves and the storm of Military Spirits.
As Oris let out a wild laugh and waved his hand, the Ghost Shark swam and charged through the storm of Military Spirits.
The Myriad Ghost also descended below the river, continuously brandishing spear-halberds and storms of Military Spirits.
A powerful vibration, accompanied by violently clashing flows of spirits, seemed poised to shatter the tower’s lower levels.
Dodging the Military Spirit spellcraft exploding right in front of him, Oris turned back to Lennok and shouted quickly.
“Sorcerer of the Demonic Ward! Bring out your ship!”
“…”
Kwaaang!!
He withstood the Myriad Ghost’s frontal assault by repeatedly freezing the river water.
The bitterly frozen river water transformed into sharp waves, stabbing into the Myriad Ghost’s side.
It didn’t stop there; the frozen water was layered repeatedly, sharpened, and transformed into a weapon.
From atop the swimming shark, he skillfully manipulated the frozen shards of ice, swinging them towards the Myriad Ghost.
Kagagagak!!
They struck with such exquisite timing that even the Myriad Ghost, reacting directly to the attacks, found it difficult to move freely.
A high-dimensional battle of wits, complex enough that it was difficult to predict movements and patterns all at once.
“…!!”
Kwaaang!!
Oris, who had slammed the Myriad Ghost’s form down into the overflowing river in the tower’s lower levels, urgently shouted.
“We have to escape before more Thousand Ghosts, guarding the Memorial Tower’s levels, join them. Hurry!”
“I don’t know what you’ve been rambling about. Bringing out a ship in a place like this would only hinder our movement.”
Lennok landed on the Memorial Tower’s inner wall, collecting himself, and replied.
“And how am I supposed to trust you enough to agree to a deal in the first place?”
“Damn it, have you forgotten all the goodwill I showed you on the first underground level?!”
The boy momentarily flared up, but his reaction didn’t last long.
Just as a faint flash seemed to spread from beneath the river water.
The Myriad Ghost’s form, having ascended at incredible speed, surged up directly from beneath the Ghost Shark.
Shwiiing!!
A thick, murderous intent to pierce through the boy and the shark entirely, binding itself with chains of Military Spirits.
The Ghost Shark immediately swung its massive body to dodge, but it couldn’t avoid having half of its fin ripped off.
[Grrrroooar!!]
“What you want is to enter the Infinite Void directly to confirm the Ascendant’s remains, isn’t it?”
As the shark thrashed its body with a painful shriek, Oris gritted his teeth and shouted at Lennok.
“There’s a way to enter the Infinite Void without going through the Memorial Tower. I’ll tell you about it, so bring out your ship now!!”
“…”
Lennok shook his head at Oris’s words, who was now shouting, having abandoned his solemn tone.
While the Grand Arbitrator’s impulsive behavior was untrustworthy, it was a variable worth considering at this point.
Having been discovered by the Myriad Ghost while peeking into the Infinite Void, a forceful breakthrough through the infinite ghostly army to reach the Infinite Void would be difficult.
While it wouldn’t be entirely impossible if he exerted his full power, the likelihood of suffering losses was too high without knowing the specific circumstances.
At the very least, he needed to understand why Dorye’s corpse was stored in the Infinite Void and its purpose before setting a new direction.
But even if Lennok escaped alone, enduring the pursuit of the Memorial Tower and the Court of Soul Pacification would be inevitable.
Lennok instinctively knew that, in this situation, it might be better to temporarily join forces with the Grand Arbitrator.
“The method you just mentioned. You’ll have to tell me immediately once we get out of here.”
“I get it, already!!”
Before the boy’s urgent shout finished, Lennok lightly reached inside his robe and swung his hand.
The shadow falling from beneath his robe expanded explosively, transforming into the massive form of the Ghost Ship.
Kwaaang!!
As the hull dropped onto the surging river, the impact split the currents to the left and right, causing the hull to sink deeply.
“Lower the anchor and get to the bridge!!”
As Oris channeled his spirit power, the Ghost Shark leaped up convulsively and bit the chains attached to the hull.
Clank!!
The shark, biting the chains hanging from the ship’s front, plunged its maw into the water and violently thrashed its body.
The Ghost Ship, which filled the lower levels of the Memorial Tower, began to sink straight down, following the parted water.
“Wait, surely by ‘escape’ you don’t mean…”
The moment Lennok, realizing the shark was trying to sink the Ghost Ship, clutched the mast.
Kugwagwagwaga!!!
The ship plunged straight down into the shattered lower levels of the tower, descending beneath the water.
The shark’s form dragged the ship itself down into the Headrain River on the tower’s underground levels.
Just as the mast of the ship, its anchor already lowered, was about to completely vanish beneath the water.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Dududook!!
A faint, ghostly grip of Military Spirits seized the ship’s deck, preventing the hull from sinking.
As soon as it saw the Ghost Shark’s action, the Myriad Ghost also transformed and manipulated Military Spirits, blocking the ship from disappearing beneath the water.
“Neither of you can leave this place until you stand before the Court of Soul Pacification’s tribunal!!”
“You’ve been nothing but an annoying nuisance from the start…!!”
“Arbitrator, focus on guiding the ship.”
The incensed Arbitrator swung the shark around, channeling power to shake off the Myriad Ghost.
“I’ll handle this side.”
Lennok nodded to the boy and stretched out his hand towards the Myriad Ghost.
Lennok, standing on the ship’s deck, unfurled the Papyrus Aureus from within his robe.
Paaat!!
As Lennok’s will-thought flowed into the papyrus, an illusion unfolded over the golden scroll.
The corpse of the Ascendant, existing beyond the Infinite Void, its entire body stained black.
The moment Lennok precisely projected and displayed the scene he had witnessed beyond the Infinite Void.
“…!!”
The Myriad Ghost’s expression, perfectly normal moments ago, suddenly turned blank again.
Its appearance was awkward and alien, like a machine whose every command had suddenly been cut off.
Correspondingly, the grip of Military Spirits holding the ship vanished, and Oris, as if he had been waiting, began to pull the ship down into the water.
“Good, we’re escaping!!”
“…”
Chwaaaak!!
Lennok stomped through the river water surging onto the deck and looked at the Myriad Ghost, which had frozen in place.
A variable that exploited the Myriad Ghost’s habit of becoming confused and unable to recall information from within the Infinite Void once it was outside.
But Lennok instinctively knew that this symptom was not merely forgetfulness or dementia.
This was not a symptom occurring because the Myriad Ghost existed as an independent entity.
It was a phenomenon that occurred because it was a spirit completely subservient to the Memorial Tower, functioning as a gatekeeper, and existing solely in that manner.
And among the spirits Lennok knew, if there was a power that existed by relying on its caster in such a way—
“Incarnation Spellcraft.”
Lennok’s gaze, fixed on the distorted form of the Myriad Ghost, shone intensely.
“So it could be used that way when pushed to the extreme.”
Gurururuk!!
Before his thoughts finished, the Ghost Ship completely disappeared beneath the river water.
“Damn it…!!!”
The Myriad Ghost, belatedly regaining its senses, swung its Military Spirit spellcraft with a distorted face, but everything was already too late.
Kwaang!!
“Damn it!!”
But the Myriad Ghost, unable to rashly enter the water below, only hovered for a long time, glaring at the surging currents.
“Ah, no… What am I, doing here…”
Centered around the Myriad Ghost, who was muttering incessantly to itself, the shattered form of the Memorial Tower slowly began to restore itself from all directions.
Kugugugu!!
New Military Spirits flowing into Yorta became components of the tower, rebuilding the collapsed levels and ceilings.
They re-erected the outer and inner walls, stabilizing the shaking Memorial Tower once more.
[Ooohhh…]
The cries of the incessantly wailing Military Spirits subsided, and silence returned to the tower.
“Right, I am… guarding… the Infinite Void…”
The Myriad Ghost’s body, which had been blankly watching the Memorial Tower restore itself, froze in place as if time had stopped.
The gatekeeper’s spirit, as if it had fulfilled its function and stopped, slowly began to fade and crumble in place.
Pashishishi…!!
Its hands and feet crumbled into white dust and vanished, as the Myriad Ghost’s spirit energy turned into a handful of smoke and surged up above the Memorial Tower.
The spirit energy, now faint smoke, rapidly ascended to the very top of the Memorial Tower.
Thump!!
The very tip of the Memorial Tower, where hundreds of Military Spirits were still increasing its altitude in real time.
There was no proper ceiling, only the dark sky where the stars of the night could be glimpsed.
At the top of the tower, there was only a massive throne, and on it, a man sitting with his eyes closed.
Raven-dark black hair, contrasted by pristine white robes.
Over the pure white robes, the Myriad Ghost’s spirit energy, which had surged from below, flowed and wrapped around them, transforming into the very fabric of the robes.
A natural assimilation, as if it had been part of the man from the very beginning.
“…”
Only then did the man on the throne open his eyes and gaze down at the tower.
Gooohhh!!
At the tower’s summit, fierce winds raged.
Though the ground was obscured by the storms of Military Spirits and clouds, his eyes were clear, as if seeing right through them.
“My incarnation, guarding the boundary of curses, has been defeated.”
The man, who had been gazing down at the tower for a long time, murmured.
“Because I allowed it to move outside the Infinite Void for so long, it ended up showing unauthorized memories. I’ve botched something that should have been easy.”
[Monarch, the Grand Arbitrator Oris has committed an act of rebellion.]
Hwarururuk!!
Nine streams of spirit energy flamed around the throne.
The ancient venerable spirits of the Court of Soul Pacification had already arrived at the tower’s summit, softly illuminating the man’s back.
Never directly facing him, they stood subtly to the side, in a position of attendance to the throne.
One of the venerable spirits, burning its spiritual flame, spoke.
[He took the Sorcerer of the Demonic Ward and fled to the tower’s underground levels. We will soon be able to track their movements.]
“However, our plans will be delayed slightly from the schedule.”
[….]
“Time is not abundant, great venerable spirits.”
Leaving the silent venerable spirits, the man slowly rose from his throne.
“Once, I wandered between two cities, dreaming wicked dreams, but none were properly realized, and only oblivion remained by my side…”
[….]
“If the Cult has caught wind of the grand design, this is no time to be picky about means and methods.”
He had forgotten much, but there were still things he remembered.
Even as he forgot and continued to forget… he still remembered Obaekro, who used to speak of the world’s fate as if it were a joke.
Kaiser Bajour’s death. The opening of the restricted zone. The corruption of the Headro Warlords, and even the Grand Canal Project.
Even the trends of the mundane world, which he had heard from Vulcan’s Senate Speaker, now felt like things from a long time ago, but if there was anything he still remembered amidst it all.
“Contact Paradise Lost.”
Simultaneously, the pure white robes the man was wearing began to dye themselves an endlessly dark black.
“I must speak directly with Jinwa and receive a portion of her Spell-Word.”
Gurururuk!!
The Ghost Ship sank beneath the cold water.
As the heavy hull submerged, white foam surged up, and the parting currents emitted a fierce roar.
The ship, which had surely not been designed with underwater navigation in mind, was surprisingly holding up well against the water pressure from all sides.
Rather than such a function being built into the ship, it was likely due to the Ghost Ship possessing such powerful preservation properties.
Lennok, who had been gazing at the increasingly dark underwater scenery beyond the old windows, slowly took off his ring.
Paaat!!
Without a word, the Priestess’s spirit body appeared, wavering before Lennok’s eyes.
“The scale and depth of the Headrain River are more than I expected. At this rate, movement will take some time.”
Lennok said quietly.
“There will be some time before the Arbitrator comes. Until then, I need to verify what I heard from you.”
[….]
“The Pontiff and Dorye. And even the reason why you came to Yorta at this time.”
Lennok’s gaze, fixed on the Priestess’s spirit body, shone coldly from behind his mask.
Regarding everything that had happened since he first encountered Seina Naydree’s corpse in the swamp.
From the moment he realized her purpose, which he had vaguely questioned and put aside, partially overlapped with his own.
He realized that he had to clarify everything.
“Unless you want to be annihilated, soul and all, you’ll have to explain everything right here.”
[…Understood. There is nothing left to hide from you now.]
The Priestess, replying calmly, raised her eyes to meet Lennok’s gaze.
[The reason I came to this Military Spirit City. Shall I begin with the most important point?]