Chapter 823: The Knot (10)

Whoosh…!!

A transparent light glowed, slowly illuminating the form of a sixth tail floating at the tip of Davi’s tail.

Had Davi absorbed the Ghost Ship Lennok acquired when he entered Yorta, transforming it into a new tail?

Considering Davi had never attempted something like this without Lennok’s permission before, it was certainly noteworthy.

It would be best to check Davi’s condition before investigating the ruins.

But the moment Lennok grasped the tail, Davi startled, leaping up from the spot.

[Whoa?!!]

The colossal fox rolled around on the ruins’ floor, as if surprised by a new sensation it hadn’t even known itself.

As it moved, ash from the ruins clung to Davi’s fur, dirtying its body.

[W-what is this?]

It spun its head around, chasing its own tail in circles to inspect the suddenly appeared sixth tail.

As Davi rolled on the ground, trying to get a look at its tail, Lennok shook his head, and at that very moment.

Flash!!

The sixth tail glowed, expanding explosively, and transformed into a colossal ship in the middle of the ruins.

The damaged ship, shrouded in pale mist, crashed down onto the ruins, sweeping through the remains.

Thud!!

[Whoaaah!!]

As Davi thrashed at the sight, the ship was absorbed again, returning to a tail form, then released, repeating the cycle.

The ruins shook relentlessly, and Davi’s eyes spun in circles as it flailed its front paws.

Lennok sighed softly and drew up his magic.

Kiiiing!!

He conjured a Magic Scribe, tied it around the colossal fox’s belly, and gently lifted it into the air.

Sharing his will-thought, he forcibly stabilized Davi’s magic, causing Davi to go limp, tail drooping, and freeze in place.

[Ugh.]

Lennok nodded, looking at Davi dangling limply from the Magic Scribe, tongue lolling out.

“Let’s check what we can ascertain immediately. Are your senses alright?”

[…Ah.]

Only then did Davi look at its six limp tails and tilt its head.

[The sensation itself doesn’t seem different from the other tails… In fact, it feels like it’s always been there.]

“What about your magic? Is there any change in its overall flow?”

Lennok asked, observing Davi intently.

He had already drawn his own conclusions after observing the spirit, but he still needed to confirm directly with Davi.

“You might perceive something different yourself. Think carefully.”

[Ughhhmm…]

Davi pondered for a long time, crouching on its front paws, then gave an ambiguous nod.

[My magic reserves definitely increased… but numerically, there’s almost no issue. I ran simulations, and they’re identical.]

“I see.”

Only then did Lennok nod, lower Davi, and speak.

“I think I understand why your sixth tail only manifested now.”

[Huh?]

“Through our shared Mind Imprint, you already possess a Domain. While you haven’t reached a higher tier, you clearly recognize the concept.”

Davi’s Domain, the Dream-Weaving Reality, is the power to freely draw and utilize Cybernetic World abilities into reality.

It’s an ability Davi awakened during the decisive battle with the Gearsides, a spirit’s Domain obtained with Lennok’s help.

Although Lennok’s assistance is required for its deployment, it’s clear that Davi comprehends the concept of a Domain.

“I thought since you already possessed a Domain, your tier would naturally rise over time… but perhaps I misjudged.”

Lennok said, stroking Davi’s tail as it swayed in the air.

“It seems the sixth tail, and beyond, must be completed based on external properties or will-thought. My premise was flawed from the start.”

The sixth tail had a transparent, ghost-like form.

Its appearance, different from the other tails, was likely because it was created based on the Ghost Ship Lennok acquired.

If so, why must the sixth tail onwards be completed by absorbing external will-thought or power?

Lennok believed the reason lay in the method of reaching a higher tier.

The Seven Stages of Self-Modification. Specifically, the Property Transformation of magic that stems from the 6th tier, the military tier.

Considering this, Davi’s sixth tail must have been completed by being stimulated by the properties of spiritual energy.

“The Property Transformation that is properly handled at the sixth tier. If the very nature of the tail must change under its influence…”

This was the reason it hadn’t been able to create a new tail for a while after the fifth one blossomed.

Perhaps Davi’s inability to keep pace with Lennok’s growth was due to a lack of the necessary environment to reach a new tier.

Only after realizing that the nature of the sixth blossomed tail was different from the previous ones could he faintly guess the reason.

“When we return to Vulcan, let’s look for scenic spots or ruins that are beneficial for spirits together.”

[Master…]

“Now that we know the method, creating the seventh tail should be easier. After that, it’ll be up to you, though…”

The birth and growth of a Cybernetic Spirit were fundamentally different from other spirits, making it difficult to ascertain, but once the method was known, results could be achieved quickly.

Utilizing the connections and assets Lennok had built in Vulcan, finding a suitable environment or variable for Davi would not be difficult at all.

Davi looked at Lennok, seemingly touched, then lifted its front paw and ruffled Lennok’s head vigorously.

[When we get back to Vulcan, I’ll hack the entire city government network and find all the relevant information!]

“…Yes, alright, just let go and we can talk.”

With Davi clinging to his body, which hadn’t properly healed from its injuries, he felt suffocated.

Lennok returned the excited Davi to its original size, tucked it into his embrace, and turned.

Clunk!!

The underground staircase of Yorta, located deep beneath the Headrain River.

He had destroyed Croken Asylus’s Tower, but the hidden underground staircases beneath the river remained.

This was likely because these underground ruins were originally built long before the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade.

Among them, Lennok had finally reached the 19th underground level of the Memorial Tower, which Naimel Naydree had mentioned.

Grooooowl!!

Passing withered seaweed at the ruins’ entrance and walking inward, he felt the air current change.

A colossal arched gateway was located within the ruins, where acrid ash constantly swirled.

Around it were only blackened, burnt bedrock and scattered debris turned to ash.

Clatter!

A shattered skull, buried amidst the ash, rolled haphazardly as it was kicked by his foot.

“…”

Naimel had called this place a crematorium where Yorta’s meritorious subjects and traitors were gathered and incinerated.

Perhaps this place was used to burn the bodies of Yorta’s ancient dignitaries.

The moment Lennok, thinking so, picked up the shattered skull with his gloved hand.

[Ughhh!!]

A lurid blue light flashed from within the skull, and it suddenly bit Lennok’s hand hard.

Crunch!!

It gnashed, as if trying to chew off Lennok’s fingers through the glove, but it shattered against the shield layered over his skin.

“What was that?”

He drew up his magic, crushed the skull he was holding, and then, one by one, figures began to rise from amidst the ash.

[Ughhh…!!]

[Grrrrk!!]

Outwardly, they appeared human, but each had their belly or chest torn open, revealing rotting corpses inside.

Lennok recognized the grotesque, groaning monsters approaching and nodded.

“Ghouls.”

[They feel a bit different from the creepy ones I’ve seen before?]

“That’s because, due to some variable, decomposition has barely progressed even after death.”

Lennok replied, glancing away.

“The Cult performed a large-scale consecration ritual here, so that’s probably why.”

[Aaaargh!!]

As if his voice was a signal, the ghouls all at once spread their arms and charged towards Lennok.

Dry saliva dribbled from their mouths, and fragments of rotting organs dropped beneath their feet.

Davi, sensing their unusual speed and strength, asked.

[Master, shall I handle them instead?]

Although he had pressured Naimel to release the shrine’s restraints and escape, Lennok’s condition hadn’t improved enough for him to move freely.

The decisive battle with Ascendant Dorye, and the series of consecutive fights against the Court of Soul Pacification and Croken.

The cumulative damage from healing and enduring injuries was so severe that it couldn’t be recovered with just a few days of rest.

If not for the power of the medicine, painstakingly compounded over several years from painkillers, stimulants, various potions, and elixirs, he wouldn’t even have been able to get out of bed.

Davi also knew that even expending magic right now would be a burden on Lennok.

“No. I’ll do it.”

But Lennok shook his head and pulled a small metal sphere from his pocket, tossing it.

With his terrible throwing skill, the sphere naturally missed, sailing over a ghoul’s head.

[…Master?]

As Davi tilted its head, watching the metal object receding uselessly behind the ghoul’s head.

A pale white revolver appeared in Lennok’s hand, glowing brightly the moment he gripped it.

[Aim Correction: Level 3 Amplification]

[Trajectory Guidance]

[Recoil Control]

[Single Shot: Precision]

The revolver’s bullet, instantly imbued with a four-layered shooting assistance spell, fired comfortably from Lennok’s fingertips.

Bang!!

It accurately struck the sphere hovering above the ghoul’s head, unleashing a powerful explosion on the spot.

KABOOM!!

[Aaaargh…!!]

A few ghouls that had come too close were engulfed by the explosion and fell, but the heat dissipated before reaching Lennok.

Lennok watched them, then pulled out a few more metal spheres of the same type from his pocket and threw them in all directions.

Compressed miniature projectiles that radiate power only within a 7.75m radius. If the effective range is calculated well, they can be used effectively even indoors.

Even in underground ruins like this, it was possible to minimize the explosion radius and control the damage to the interior.

Tatataang!!

Regardless of Lennok’s poor manual dexterity, once the miniature projectiles were out of range, he used shooting assistance magic to strike and detonate them.

Each pull of the revolver’s trigger unleashed violent explosions several times more powerful than a direct shot, indiscriminately sweeping away the ghouls.

BOOOM!!!

[Graaah…]

[Gurgle!!]

For ghouls that came too close for the explosives to cover, he pressed the revolver’s muzzle to their foreheads and fired a precise shot.

A pale white magical light erupted from behind the ghoul’s head, cleanly severing everything above its neck.

Lennok’s hand, layered with auxiliary magic, moved smoothly as if guided by an external will, repeatedly loading and firing.

Cha-rururuk!!

At the same time, several firearms tumbled out from inside his robe and swiftly attached themselves to Lennok’s hands.

He blasted away fast-charging ghouls with a charged shotgun, shattering their bodies.

For ghouls rising in the distance, he riddled them with a Predator machine gun, turning them into Swiss cheese.

Dududududu!!!

Immediately after, the explosives scattered everywhere were hit by bullets and detonated, scattering hot gusts of wind.

[Whoaaaaah…!!]

[Grrrk…!!]

He pulled the trigger a few more times on the heads of ghouls that stumbled even after being burnt and collapsing.

Tatangg!!

He expended almost no magic while incinerating hundreds of ghouls that relentlessly rose as if guarding the ruins.

Davi watched, looking disgusted, and asked.

[The efficiency of your auxiliary magic is almost perfect now. How long will you keep customizing it like that?]

“Until I can use it against monsters like Croken.”

Lennok replied and began sifting through the bone dust and debris scattered around the crematorium.

Unlike the cluttered space outside the crematorium, the interior became progressively neater as he went deeper.

A floor sculpted from pristine white marble appeared, and beautifully crafted urns were displayed within glass-separated walls.

Lennok found an empty urn, hesitated, then reached out for it.

Shwiiing!!

Lennok conjured a Magic Scribe to retrieve the urn, examining it as he mumbled.

“It’s a good item. Designed for easy preservation and observation, both inside and out. It’s old, but the design itself is flawless.”

[To prove that Master’s notoriety isn’t just a rumor, you did need something like this.]

“…I hadn’t intended to use it for that purpose.”

Ignoring Davi, he rummaged through his shadow robe and found the remnants of bone dust.

Lennok slowly knelt and carefully transferred the bone dust into the urn.

The remains left after he defeated Ascendant Dorye’s body and it was annihilated.

Dorye had not only once been the Pontiff’s vessel but also a berserker who had attained the tier of an Ascendant.

If the remnants were strong enough to persist even after his body’s annihilation, they would surely be useful someday.

Lennok placed Dorye’s remnants into the urn, tucked it into his pocket, and lifted his gaze.

At the deepest part of the crematorium stood the form of an ancient altar.

At its end, a grotesque scene unfolded, one that momentarily overwhelmed even Lennok.

“This is…”

On either side of the altar, gigantic blades, easily taller than Lennok, stood in rows.

Blades stood on all sides as if aimed at the altar, and beneath them lay dead bodies.

People dressed in archaic ceremonial robes, kneeling in prayer beneath the blades, were dead.

Like those who entrusted their lives to an executioner’s block, dozens of bodies were preserved in a circle around the altar.

“…”

The moment he faced it directly, he instantly understood.

This was the ritual site where the Cult began their consecration ritual, offering their followers to the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade.

Had they offered only the souls to the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade through consecration, leaving their bodies here?

Lennok slowly approached the bodies dead beneath the blades, examined their appearance, and fell silent.

“The bodies are…”

The bodies, dead as if in prayer with their eyes closed, were no longer those of ordinary humans.

Their skin had split and become translucent like glass, grotesquely revealing their internal organs and skeletons.

He had witnessed the Cult’s human sacrifices multiple times, but most were brutal and horrific; this was the first time he’d seen offerings left so bizarrely and cleanly.

Was this the result of the atrocities created through human sacrifice, carried out with the Pontiff’s direct involvement?

Lennok silently walked past the bodies towards the altar, examining the structure of the magic circle carved upon it.

Unknown characters revolved around the altar, forming a massive circle.

Perhaps Naimel and other Cult members had been offered here for the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade.

[Outwardly, I don’t sense any power or will-thought.]

“Indeed. But…”

Following Davi’s words, Lennok circled the altar, stroking its flat surface as he mumbled.

“It’s slight, but it’s definitely similar.”

The Apostle Consecration Ritual that Priestess Isel Naydree had attempted at the Cult’s Far Eastern branch.

The consecration altar Isel had personally created at that time, and the altar here, looked very similar.

“The Priestess of that era personally came and created this altar.”

Given that the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade is a very ancient ascension ritual, the Priestess who created the altar back then wouldn’t have been Isel Naydree.

However, the similarity in appearance between the altar Isel created and this one supported Lennok’s speculation.

[That disgusting smell…]

Davi, having witnessed the Far Eastern branch’s affairs firsthand, knew what he was talking about.

The Cybernetic Spirit, leaping from his embrace, tapped the altar with its front paw and tilted its head.

[I’m radiating magic waves to scan its interior, but it’s just a simple stone. There’s nothing to it besides its unusual appearance?]

“The Cult may be mad, but they’re not sloppy with their work. They must have thoroughly erased the traces after the consecration. But…”

Lennok said, taking off his glove and extending his wrist.

“If it’s a symbol of the same Cult, then it’s a different story.”

The form of a pale white stigma was carved beneath his wrist.

The High Priestess’s authority that Seina Naydree had given Lennok.

The moment he placed the stigma carved on his wrist onto the altar, the altar vibrated violently.

A pale white light struck down onto the empty altar, heating its surface to a brilliant white.

Hiss!!

The light, scorching the stone altar, began to carve something onto its surface.

The inscription quickly stretched out from the altar’s surface, spreading across the floor and throughout the crematorium.

The characters that had been inscribed in a circle around the altar responded, merging and transforming into characters Lennok could recognize.

Creek!

“This is…”

A colossal magic circle, intricately carved with characters, completed around the ancient altar.

Lennok silently gazed at the magic circle, then stepped back a distance and began to read the inscription.

[Through a legitimate transaction between the Papal See and Yorta, evidence for the continued existence of the Myriad Ghosts’ Night Parade is left at this place.]

In exchange for interring Dorye’s remains in Mugan’s sanctuary, the Papal See would offer its followers to aid the Night Parade.

A detailed record, almost like a ledger, so extensive that there wasn’t enough space to write down dates, times, and deadlines of the situation at the time.

The Guido Cult had left the details of their transaction with Yorta here as evidence of the ritual.

Records of the transaction’s contents and circumstances. The principles of the ritual, the power borrowed from Outer Gods. Even the notary public invited to attest to the ritual.

“By yielding spirit and entrusting flesh, grace is transferred; invoking the next name, this ritual is affirmed.”

Lennok quietly read aloud the final incantation carved into the center of the altar.

“The cost of this ritual is transferred to the notary public, deferring infinite glory to the next…”

Having read that far, Lennok confirmed the name written next and smiled bitterly.

“…I see.”

Why had the Pontiff interred Dorye’s vessel in Mugan?

Even after fighting and annihilating the Ascendant’s body, Lennok could only now understand the Pontiff’s true intent.

The Pontiff had not preserved the Ascendant’s body in Mugan’s sanctuary for himself.

But for someone who would one day visit Yorta and inhabit Dorye’s body in the Pontiff’s stead.

An arrangement prepared for a deceased who had already failed, met death, and whose name was fading into oblivion.

In place of the silent Lennok, Davi slowly read the name written at the altar’s edge.

[In the name of Kaiser Bajour, this ritual is attested, and the cost transferred.]