Chapter 833: Handover (1)

The small garden behind the old cathedral where Hylaea resided.

Lennok, who had erased his presence using mana detection and sat on a secluded park bench, let out a sigh.

It was obvious who was behind clearing out all the Deep Web posts and causing a commotion across the entire site.

Lennok looked at Davi with a smile and muttered, “……I’m sure I told you not to leave unnecessary traces.”

“Abububu.”

Davi, whose cheeks were stretched out from being held in Lennok’s hand, protested. The spirit furiously waved its front paws, desperately shaking its head towards Lennok.

Lennok watched its antics with displeasure, then sighed and released Davi.

“I don’t know what you’re doing. Do you want to play on the Deep Web so badly that you’re willing to be called a psychopath?”

“Master. There’s a misunderstanding.” Davi landed on Lennok’s lap and clarified, “It’s not me who’s being called a psychopath.”

“Oh, really. So it wasn’t you?” Lennok retorted, not believing a word of it.

“There’s another hacker on the Deep Web besides you who advertises themselves as a fox enthusiast across the entire network? It seems I’ve underestimated the lunatics in this city.”

“Hehe, you don’t have to be too surprised.” Davi puffed out her chest, standing on Lennok’s lap, and said, “That’s just one of my multiple accounts!”

“……”

Davi, oblivious to Lennok’s suddenly cold gaze, proudly explained, “It’s an account I use as an uploader on the Deep Web. Every time it appears, it acts like an attention-seeker and even deletes comments. It’s a very useful friend.”

“That’s not acting like an attention-seeker. That’s just being one.”

“No, Master. I’ve realized something.” Davi ignored Lennok’s rebuttal and raised her front paws above her head as if enlightened. “If you consistently pretend to be crazy, organisms won’t notice when you occasionally act with calculated intentions!”

“No, that’s…”

“It’s an account with a clearly defined concept and role, so technically, that’s not me.”

Lennok was about to say something in response but then sighed and nodded. It was obvious where Davi had learned such a mischievous method.

Having observed Lennok’s actions up close, Davi would understand better than anyone how effectively Lennok had utilized multiple identities. If she had used that as a means to operate on the Deep Web herself, Lennok had nothing to say.

The problem was…

“Davi.”

Lennok placed the young spirit on the bench, then lowered himself slightly and spoke, “To be honest, when I first created you, I didn’t expect you to grow this much.”

“……”

“In a sense, you exceed my expectations at every moment. Even now, and it’s true that I receive a lot of help from your abilities. However…”

Lennok met Davi’s clear blue eyes and carefully chose his words. “From now on, you need to think a little more carefully before imitating me.”

“Why?”

“Because even though you are a being derived from me, you are an individual with different talents and abilities than me.” Lennok said, stroking Davi’s head. “Imitating me is merely following in the footsteps of my possibilities and potential, and that will ultimately keep you as a subordinate entity.”

“……”

Davi’s abilities, born in the Cybernetic Space, were a different kind of power from Lennok’s talents. Considering that Davi was a spirit born through Lennok’s magic, it was truly a miracle.

But if Davi continued to imitate Lennok like this, even adopting his methods, she would eventually only become similar to Lennok. And she would never surpass him, only become something akin to a subordinate compatibility.

Did she sense something in Lennok’s unprecedentedly serious words? Davi, who had been silent, spoke. “But… I don’t mind being Master’s subordinate entity.”

“It would be fine for anyone else,” Lennok quietly replied. “But you are different. Because you are a being born from me, if you imitate me beyond a certain level… you will bear the backlash as well.”

Lennok’s transcendent talents were not powers given for free. They were a kind of restriction, like a rule based on the severe penalty that bound his body.

If Davi became too similar to Lennok, it was highly likely that Lennok’s penalty would also be accompanied in a similar form. That would be a truly fatal danger for Davi, who existed as a spirit.

Lennok realized this and felt he had to warn her in advance.

“I’m not telling you to stop immediately. Not all of your actions are just imitating me. But you must keep the worst possibilities in mind.”

“……”

“You haven’t been born into this world for even ten years, and there are facts you need to know when making choices. I…”

Lennok, stroking Davi silently and sitting on the bench, chuckled. “I hope you live longer than I do.”

How much time did Lennok have left? Ten years, or twenty? Perhaps much shorter than that. The Talent’s Bane penalty was a restriction Lennok himself couldn’t gauge, and it was impossible to precisely know the remaining time. Was that why he always tried his best at every moment, leaving no regrets?

But what if Lennok’s time ran out before the world’s end came? And what if this young spirit remained by Lennok’s side until then?

What would await the Cybernetic Spirit left alone in this world?

Just thinking about it made his chest ache, but conversely, Lennok acknowledged the need to prepare for an end that could come at any time. Was it because of the pendant Oris gave him, or because he had experienced so much for so long? Unlike before, even if Lennok himself met his end first, something would remain in this world.

Thinking about that offered a small comfort.

“Alright.” Davi replied, her six tails drooping.

Davi slumped onto Lennok’s lap as if dejected, then suddenly lifted her head as if something occurred to her. “Then for now, I’ll only be active on the Deep Web with one account!”

“……”

A naive question that made him wonder if she had heard anything he just said. Lennok looked down at Davi, dumbfounded, then relaxed his expression and chuckled. “Fine. Do as you please.”

Davi’s personal growth was much faster, stronger, and more stable than Lennok had anticipated. This was likely because, separate from being derived from Lennok himself, she had strived to exist as an independent entity.

No matter what choices this young spirit made, Lennok was ready to trust and assist her.

“But you still have to take responsibility for messing things up, right?”

“Ugh.”

Regardless, the punishment for wantonly disrupting the Deep Web was well deserved. Lennok tied Davi’s tails into a knot and hung her dangling inside his robe pocket as he returned to the cathedral.

Hylaea looked back at Lennok with a bewildered expression and called out, “Victor, where have you been?”

“I had something to take care of. How’s the Deep Web?”

“……Thanks to that crazy uploader, the situation is over. Everyone has pretty much given up.” Hylaea shook her head. “At least for now, there won’t be any more talk on the public forums.”

Davi’s chosen method was a reckless disruption that surprised Lennok, but precisely because of its brazenness, it was even more effective. On the Deep Web, where identities were unknown, an opponent with strange obsessions and tendencies was an object of avoidance, not antagonism. This was even truer if the opponent was a brilliant hacker like Davi.

It would be difficult to stop videos leaked elsewhere, but this was enough for now. As Lennok thought this, Hylaea handed him a piece of paper.

“This is an official document leaked from Deadrise Headquarters.”

“……”

“They’ve included satellite cities near Vulcan as new operational areas. Do you know what this means?”

A rough piece of paper with various complex legion marks, listing the operational zones of several legions. An operation area specification sheet directly leaked to the media by a private military company covering the Central Front.

Lennok understood immediately why Hylaea had shown him this. The Adamant Thunder subjugation operation that Deimus had mentioned. By including the satellite cities near Vulcan in Deadrise’s operational area, he had publicly announced right after the meeting that his words were by no means empty threats.

“Deimus… he’s certainly a troublesome man. As capable as he is.” Hylaea sat on the end of a quiet pew in the chapel, looking tired. “He makes his intentions clear, yet doesn’t forget his position, having a foot in both the military and the Den of Fiends. He seems to have the best political sense of anyone who’s tried to use us recently.”

“……”

“To be honest, the Adamant Thunder subjugation is excessively dangerous. If Adamant Thunder hadn’t already been suffering from multiple injuries, it wouldn’t even have been discussed in this manner.”

“Is that so.” Lennok replied indifferently, tilting his head. A deep black light flickered from within his Obsidian Mask. “For someone so concerned, you didn’t even try to mediate the situation.”

Hylaea’s face stiffened slightly at Lennok’s cold words. “Even with The Doctor present, unlike last time, you didn’t try to push the agenda. You merely tossed out formal topics and focused on observing reactions.”

“Victor, that…”

Hylaea had gathered the members for the meeting but hadn’t directly brought up any topics other than Yorta’s agenda. The Adamant Thunder subjugation agenda was a buildup that started with Chebyen and was completed by Deimus.

But Hylaea neither organized nor stopped the straying meeting, merely observing the situation quietly. While it could be said she was faithful to her role as a broker, the feeling wasn’t the same as when she first convened the meeting. Lennok had already sensed the incongruity in the gap of her reactions.

“Hylaea.” Was she feeling pressured by him pointing out that fact? Lennok, calling the pale nun, calmed his mana and said, “I have no intention of belittling your attempt to balance the organization. That’s probably a task the Director, who noticed your talent, entrusted to you, rather than your own will.”

“……”

“But no matter what deal you made with Deimus, or how you tried to gauge the attendees… you should be careful when you start something.” Lennok slowly leaned back in his chair and said, “If the roles begin to reverse, I might no longer have a reason to watch over your side for long.”

“……Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.” Hylaea managed to relax her stiff face and replied, “But I can assure you, it won’t be anything harmful to your side. It’s not about being tied to Deadrise, either. It’s merely from the perspective of gauging the combat strength of the Den of Fiends…”

“Enough. I have no desire for a detailed explanation now. Instead—”

Zzzzzzing…!!

Lennok, who had cut off Hylaea, suddenly stopped speaking as a sharp pain shot up his spine. The effect of the painkiller momentarily wore off, and he felt his limbs tingle and his knees buckle.

Lennok, having barely regained his composure, leaned against the chapel chair and continued, “Tell the Director I’m ready. Anytime.”

“……What if there’s no answer?”

“Even then, he’ll definitely hear it.” Lennok smiled. “He’ll know better than anyone whether I’m ready or not.”

“……”

The collapse of the Memorial Tower, the massacre in Machina. The Director and the Pontiff. The hidden history of the Black Consumer Project surrounding Kaiser Bajour.

Lennok had traced past memories by visiting the two cities that were built before Vulcan, and now he was slowly realizing what had happened in this city. Just as the Pontiff had understood Lennok, the Director would know as well.

The message sent through Croken was the Director’s direct expression of will to Lennok. A reaffirmation to speak again about their relationship, which had been ignored until now, and the old memories to which he had deliberately attached no meaning.

With that confirmed, there was no need to hesitate.

“Then…”

“Wait a moment.” Hylaea quickly approached Lennok, who was staggering to turn away, and offered him something. A case containing several objects that looked like silver pellets.

“It’s a God-Heat Suppressant. If you take it, it temporarily separates your body and consciousness, distancing you from real-world pain,” Hylaea quietly said. “It was made by a religious group that was destroyed by the Guido Cult, for their followers to meet their god.”

“……”

“If the pain is truly unbearable, try one. Be careful, though, if you take them too often, you might never return.”

“I don’t think it’ll be of much use…” After all, for a wizard with as powerful a self-consciousness as Lennok, such a disconnect between body and mind wouldn’t easily occur. Even in Yorta, where all sorts of Military Spirits resided, Lennok’s soul or mind had never once wavered.

As Daemon, a spirit from the Central City, had said, Lennok possessed an inviolable purity that he himself wasn’t even aware of. Unless Lennok himself wished it, interference with his soul would not happen.

However, Lennok took the God-Heat Suppressant Hylaea offered, even as he said this. There was no need to refuse a given item, and it might be useful for someone else, if not for him. What bothered him more was that Hylaea had noticed Lennok’s pained reaction. It meant Lennok’s condition was so poor that he couldn’t hide the aftereffects of his battle in Yorta.

Leaning weakly against the cathedral door, Lennok turned his head, his eyes shining from behind his mask. “You know, everything that happened today must be kept a secret.”

“……I was going to anyway. What do you take me for?”

“If any news about me leaks, I’ll assume it’s your responsibility.”

“I don’t want to die either. Just handle it.”

Hylaea retorted, looking exasperated despite her still pale complexion, and disappeared behind the chapel. She was probably going to contact the other members who hadn’t attended this meeting.

Lennok quietly left the now silent cathedral and immediately exited District 21.

“Whew…”

After his meeting with Hylaea, his focus rapidly blurred as his tasks were complete. He arrived near his home with a hazy consciousness, barely knowing how he got there, and tore off his Obsidian Mask. Davi watched pitifully as he fumbled for a cigarette with trembling hands and finally managed to light it.

“Let’s go home quickly. Master needs to rest.”

“……Jenny?”

“She’s been calling ever since you entered service area, but I’ll respond appropriately for now.”

“……”

Lennok was about to reply to that, but then he looked at himself and gave a bitter smile. It was early morning, just as the sun was rising. People were commuting, walking the streets, and here he was, leaning against his bike, smoking, looking like death warmed over.

His head felt light, his consciousness spinning, and the vibrancy around him felt distant, not touching his skin. A strange floating sensation, as if his body and mind were separating, even though he hadn’t taken the God-Heat Suppressant Hylaea gave him. The fatigue and pain, suppressed by the medication, spread like watercolor, slowly soaking his entire body.

Should he have rested a bit more in Yorta? But with the collapse of the Memorial Tower now known across the continent, he had to leave before outsiders, hearing the news, could find him. Not many of his judgments had been wrong. It was just that the power needed to make the best choice hadn’t met his expectations.

Regrets lingered the more he thought about it, but Lennok gritted his teeth and slowly composed himself.

“……Yes. Let’s do that.”

Handing his phone to Davi, he opened the mansion gate and stepped inside. He washed quickly, splashing water on himself, then fumbled for the medicine bottles lined up on the sink, opened them, and chewed them down.

“Haa, haa…”

He leaned against the bed, drank a lot of water, and slowly lay down. Lying there, plagued by a throbbing headache, ragged breathing, and pain of unknown origin, always brought back old memories.

What if he fell asleep like this and never woke up again? A long time ago, he used to go to sleep like that every day, in pain, with such worries.

Repeating the pain and worries, swallowing tears that wouldn’t fall, until he finally drifted to sleep— And then, he would wake up with the relief of having survived another day.

On the morning of his return to Vulcan, after the long journey through the Military Spirit City, Lennok closed his eyes against the pouring sunlight and fell into an indefinite sleep for the first time in months.

Vulcan Mega-City, District 49. Jenny’s Bar.

“Jenny!!”

BANG!!

The door of the bustling bar burst open, and several people poured in. Their varied appearances and scattered mana created a unique atmosphere, instantly drawing the attention of those around them before it dissipated. Customers who frequented this bar knew who these newcomers were.

Jenny, who had been sitting at the bar, typing on her laptop, scratched her head with an annoyed expression. “I’ve told you ten times not to kick the door! I just replaced it a few days ago, you idiot!”

“No, there’s something more important than that!!” Dylan, the mercenary wearing a strange mask, sweated profusely as he pulled out his phone. “Van replied. You saw it, didn’t you?”

“……And?”

“This guy. He’s suddenly gone crazy. He never sends replies like this.” Dylan said, showing Jenny the message he had received on his phone. It was a reply to a message he had sent, trying not to seem too worried, saying it was hard to see his face.

[Dylan. I’m fine. I recently met an organism of my life, and I’m doing very well.]

“……”

[It’s a very delicate, skilled, and excellent organism. An organism I can trust and entrust all my work to directly.]

Dylan asked Jenny with a serious expression, “It looks like Van’s finally gone insane.”

“……”

The bar fell into quiet silence.