Chapter 839: Handover (7)
Splash—!!
Hot blood splattered across the dry arena.
The air in the stadium, filled with a cacophony of screams, shouts, wails, and groans, was so scorching it felt like heads would boil.
“Aaaargh!!”
Forgetting all pretense and pride, a man screamed until his throat tore, consumed by the pain of his body being ripped apart.
But it didn’t last long. As his vision split in two, his consciousness snapped.
Thwack, thud—!!
Pitch-black lightning split his scalp, shattering the bald giant’s head into a thousand pieces.
His skull crushed on the spot, its contents spilling out, painting an unspeakable horror in colors different from blood.
“Fuuuuuuck!!”
“He’s tearing people apart with his bare hands!!”
“Uuuugh!!”
The spectators screamed, vomited, and reveled in a death beyond imagination.
[What in the world is going on here?]
Contrary to the growing excitement, the atmosphere in the VIP box had chilled considerably.
[How did you obtain that black wizard’s blood and use it as a doping agent here?]
[Alejandro Murphy. Can you truly take responsibility for this situation?!]
It was an unbelievable fact that the doping agent Murphy submitted for this project might have used the Nether King’s blood as a raw material.
Where on earth did he get his hands on the blood of a black wizard who roamed the continent, wreaking destruction without standard or rule?
“……”
But instead of hastily answering, Murphy clamped his mouth shut and averted his gaze, pretending not to know.
Lennok, realizing that Murphy was observing his reaction before responding, let out a faint chuckle.
Unable to hold back, the Designers, watching the massacre unfold below, began to voice their opinions.
“Calm yourselves, everyone.”
“Isn’t it possible that the doping agent Murphy used isn’t the Nether King’s blood?”
“Discussing unconfirmed information based on his own words should, for now—”
[No, there’s no mistake.]
From beyond the screen, a man with a stern face covered in scars spoke.
[I saw the city where the provisional ascent was taking place. That magic is eerily similar to that monster’s mana.]
“……Could you tell us why you think so?”
[Look at the mana of the prisoner currently massacring the other participants.]
The prisoner, fighting after being doped with Lennok’s blood, was overwhelmingly dominant.
Wrapped in black lightning, his cruel handiwork tore opponents apart in pure close-quarters combat.
Just by touching them with the pitch-black lightning, the other participants died horribly on the spot, unable to lift a finger.
“Aaaargh!!!”
“Save, save me!!”
“My mana…… why isn’t my mana returning?!!”
They struggled desperately, but the abilities and mana injected through the doping agent wouldn’t function properly.
Instead, they were completely consumed, swallowed by the black lightning the prisoner unleashed, endlessly sinking until they simply vanished without a trace.
[Completely crushed and unrecognizable, the distorted mana. I have definitely seen this by the Nether King’s side.]
“……”
The scarred man’s voice, trembling in a way that couldn’t be hidden even through the screen, continued.
[A terrible will-thought, twisted and bundled as if not belonging to a single person. This is clearly……!!!]
Splash—!!
Black, dried blood fell sticky at his feet.
Thwack, thud—!!
Muscles and nerves tore, transforming a living human body into something less than a rag.
Sizzle—!!
Each time a screaming mouth was crushed, a gentle smile formed on the prisoner’s face.
The prisoner, his face brightening as if life was returning to his expression, raised his head, drenched in blood, at that very moment.
Pitch-black lightning surged like a wave, overflowing the entire arena.
Boom—!!
“Whoa, whoa—!!”
“Wait, wait a minute…… isn’t this a bit dangerous?”
It was such intense and terrifying mana that even the other excited spectators felt a chill run down their spines.
The other clients hastily turned their gazes and began to press Murphy.
[Murphy. Explain this right now.]
[Where did you bring such a monstrosity from?]
“I don’t understand why everyone is so agitated.”
Murphy replied at that moment, his voice thick and low.
Turning his emaciated body in his wheelchair, he said,
“I merely showed you my ability to handle a precious ingredient that no one else could acquire, as promised.”
[You know that’s not the problem.]
[If the Nether King were to find out about this, all of us would simply die a dog’s death……!!]
“That’s not what’s important, is it?”
Murphy, cutting off the clients, his eyes shining sharply, said,
“Isn’t it that I possess the ability to acquire ingredients that other Designers can’t even touch, and process them into medicine?”
[……]
“Have patience. I will personally show you how this project will be concluded.”
Turning his back on the silent clients, Murphy pulled Lennok towards a corner of the room.
“So, Van. What exactly is that?”
“……Didn’t you just lecture them about having patience?”
“It didn’t feel like this when we experimented last time.”
Murphy took out a sound-blocking device from his pocket, activated it, and whispered to Lennok.
“All I knew was that doping with your blood was powerful enough to interfere with the hierarchy. From here on, it’s practically uncharted territory even for me.”
The Van that Murphy knew was an 8th-level Archwizard. Furthermore, he was a lightning wizard who had reached an insurmountable realm.
If Lennok’s blood were adjusted into a doping agent to elicit its effects, it should surely take a form close to magic.
However, the combat of the prisoner who took the doping agent was more akin to that of a slaughterer who burned away the opponent’s mana and will-thought, rather than a wizard’s.
It was natural for the clients watching the current situation to misunderstand the true nature of the doping agent.
“I did make some adjustments to the doping agent at the end. I think that’s why they’re mistaking it for the Nether King’s blood.”
And Lennok, to some extent, understood why things had turned out this way.
“I tainted the mana black and twisted its patterns to make it unrecognizable, and it coincidentally ended up similar to the Nether King’s mana. Bad luck.”
Murphy stared at Lennok as if dumbfounded, then asked,
“Can you really explain that away as just ‘bad luck’……?”
“……”
No, in truth, it wouldn’t be a coincidence.
Lennok knew it too.
The characteristics of the mana, inadvertently altered, had become similar to Myeong’s.
This was surely because the optimal form for dominating and reaping the destinies of others, not oneself, was close to Myeong’s.
The causality Lennok had understood about Myeong all this time. The reason he had become what he was.
The fundamental motivation for accumulating qualifications to challenge ascension through Provisional Ascent.
Now, vaguely understanding this, Lennok realized that it had, at his fingertips, transformed in a similar direction.
Perhaps if he delved a little deeper into this, he might even discover Myeong’s true desired outcome.
But instead of immersing himself in that fact right away, Lennok decided to focus on resolving the immediate problem.
“If you wish, I can put an end to this here. How do you want to handle it?”
“……Put an end to it?”
To Murphy’s question, Lennok gestured towards the prisoner still raging below.
“That one, it’ll take a long time for the drug’s effects to wear off.”
“……”
“He’s conserving the mana injected through the doping agent and delaying the rebound. He’s aware of his own condition.”
Lennok smiled, seeing Murphy speechless.
“After he kills all the other participants, he’ll probably come to us to solve this problem—”
[You creeps hanging from the ceiling.]
Creeeeak!!!
At that moment, a hoarse voice boomed through the stadium speakers.
The prisoner, drenched in blood, had somehow snatched the announcer’s microphone from the platform outside the arena.
“Hieek……!!”
Crunch—!!
The prisoner, having stomped on the head of the stammering, pale-faced announcer who tried to flee, glared at the VIP box and spoke.
[Come down before me right now and tell me how to counteract the drug you injected into my body.]
“……”
[If you don’t comply, I will kill every single spectator gathered in this stadium right now.]
An unexpected situation where the prisoner in the arena was threatening the audience and clients instead.
Amid the chilling silence, Lennok shrugged and finished his sentence.
“—I was saying he might demand a solution from us.”
“……I don’t understand.”
Murphy mumbled, bewildered.
“The subject I chose for the doping agent was a prisoner whose head was injured and couldn’t even speak properly. How could he, after being injected with the enhancer, in such a short time—”
“Because it was based on my mana.”
Lennok said matter-of-factly.
“It’s not strange for judgment abilities to increase while the drug takes effect. I didn’t expect it, but it’s entirely possible.”
“……”
Murphy stared at Lennok as if he’d encountered the most vexing person in his life, then let out a deep sigh.
“……Damn it.”
Having fully grasped the situation by Lennok’s reaction, Murphy irritably scratched his head.
Ultimately, no matter how this situation unfolded, Lennok’s name or identity wouldn’t be exposed. All responsibility for this incident would fall squarely on Murphy.
However, since it was Murphy himself who had first demanded Lennok’s blood to create the doping agent, he had no one to blame.
“Alright…… this is clearly my misjudgment, a failure to anticipate the outcome. I underestimated the possibilities when your blood was made into a doping agent. I admit it.”
“Then?”
“My Ars Nova medical record database. I’ll let you use it once more in the way you desire.”
Murphy said.
“In return, clean up this situation as if it never happened. Can you do that?”
“Fine.”
Lennok nodded, letting out a faint laugh.
“I accept the request. Time to work.”
At that moment, one of the walls of the underground arena collapsed with a violent roar.
KABOOOM—!!!
Through the crumbling rock, someone walked out, leaning on a staff.
A black-haired young man in a pitch-black coat, a cigarette in his mouth, looking around with murky eyes.
With a flowing silver staff in one hand, he took leisurely, languid steps.
Upon seeing his face, Murphy, utterly dumbfounded this time, turned his gaze.
“……Van?”
The sudden appearance of the young man, who had shattered one of the underground arena walls, caused a great stir among the Designers and clients.
“Who is that?”
“I thought all access from outsiders was restricted while the event match was in progress.”
[No, he didn’t enter through the entrance.]
“He broke through the wall? But this is—”
They were about to say, ‘This is an arena built dozens of meters underground, within bedrock.’
Swallowing their words before they could finish, people realized how the young man had entered and fell silent.
The man who had just appeared didn’t find an entrance or passage to the arena.
He had pierced through dozens of meters of bedrock from the undeveloped ground above, bare-handed, to reach this point.
An superhuman who transcended human limits. Indeed, it wasn’t impossible for a high-tier physical ability user.
But to walk out with such a calm expression, without even a single gasp, after doing so—how much vast mana would that require?
Even now, having forcibly dug his way into the arena, there was no telling what type of superhuman this man was.
Everyone was still choosing their words, wondering how to react to the unexpected intrusion of a third party.
“Don’t worry.”
Murphy, having quickly finished his conversation with Lennok, stepped forward.
[Alejandro?]
“He’s an acquaintance of mine. Although he’s still someone whose thoughts I can’t quite grasp……”
Murphy, still looking at Lennok descending into the arena with disbelief, said,
“Since he’s personally stepped in, the situation won’t escalate.”
[A coat and a cigarette, a staff…… Surely not.]
At that moment, some of the clients muttered, their voices seemingly choked.
[I’ve heard of him.]
[They say a blood-crazed wizard lives in the shadows of the mega-city—]
“A blood-crazed wizard?”
One by one, the Designers who repeated those words suddenly turned pale.
“Wait…… surely, that person isn’t here?”
“No, no way. What would such a wizard lack that he’d come to an arena like this……!!”
[There were rumors he was a madman who enjoyed slaughter even with injuries.]
[I heard he acts by his own standards, without picking and choosing opponents. If so……]
Only then did the other clients, understanding what people were talking about, gape in astonishment.
[Surely, he came all the way here after sensing the mana that prisoner is emitting……?]
The mana that Murphy had used as a doping agent, presumed to be the Nether King’s blood.
If the young man who had just appeared in this arena was truly the person described in the rumors, then all these circumstances fit together like a key in a lock.
Unbeknownst to them, the screen displaying the City Council Senator among the clients had discreetly turned off.
Seeing this, the clients let out a sigh of resignation, half-convinced.
[The Senator fled. It must be him.]
[Vulcan’s Adamant Thunder. A mad wizard who seeks out fights even after reaching 8th-level.]
[They said he seeks powerful opponents without considering the consequences, so it wasn’t an empty boast after all……]
Just Adamant Thunder’s appearance made everyone understand and accept the situation as they pleased.
Murphy watched their reactions with a strange expression, while Lennok silently tilted his head.
Meanwhile, Adamant Thunder, who had landed at the far end of the stadium, was walking towards the center of the arena.
Thump—!!
Leaning on his silver staff, he took slow steps.
An ordinary gait, showing no manifestation of mana or will-thought.
A quiet presence, contrasting sharply with the prisoner who stood alone in the center of the arena, drenched in blood, constantly emitting black mana.
The prisoner, who had been threatening the other spectators with the microphone in hand, belatedly noticed Lennok’s presence and sharply turned his head.
“Damn it, who are you?!”
Intense mana ceaselessly coiled around his entire body.
As he was about to unleash the power that endlessly invigorated his body, his eyes met Lennok’s.
“……Huh?”
The prisoner’s movement, poised to strike, froze on the spot.
“……”
Lennok’s gaze, as he stood leaning on his staff, calmly watching him.
That alone caused the prisoner’s body to stiffen and tremble faintly.
“Uh, uhhh…….”
The prisoner, who had been toying with and slaughtering over a dozen superhumans with strength to spare, stammered, unable to speak properly.
A chilling certainty pierced his mind. There was no basis, no reason, yet the premonition of death approached with ultimate clarity.
Nothing was felt, yet precisely because of that, everything seemed to be known.
Mana and judgment elevated by another’s power. An intuition whose source was unfathomable, clearly proclaimed one conclusion.
Death here.
While everyone watched the trembling prisoner, who stood blankly, holding their breath.
Lennok, standing before the prisoner, spoke.
“You weren’t bad for trash. Thanks to you, I saw something interesting.”
“……”
“If you have any last words, I’ll listen.”
Lennok’s demeanor, commanding without moving, simply leaning on his staff.
But the prisoner, unable to resist Lennok’s words, trembled all over and with difficulty, replied.
“Among the people I killed…… my family is there……”
“……”
“Bury my body, beside them……”
“You murdered your kin, yet you wish to be buried with your family?”
Lennok laughed.
Indeed, he must have been such a heinous criminal to have ended up in this underground arena, used as a test subject for drugs.
“Fine. I’ll have someone take care of it.”
Lennok nodded and lightly tapped his staff.
Tap—!!
A faint streak of lightning blossomed from his fingertips gripping the staff.
The lightning surged into the air, silently spun, and then plunged directly into the prisoner’s temple.
At that moment, Lennok said,
“Kill yourself.”
Thud—!!
At that instant, the prisoner raised one hand and plunged it into his own head.
A mechanical, lightning-fast movement, as if not his own will, like a puppet.
His brain shattered without a chance to react, and the prisoner’s body collapsed forward.
The black mana that had flowed over the prisoner’s body vanished without a trace.
“……”
[……]
The spectators, the Designers, and all the clients who had planned this event stood frozen, staring at the scene.
Lennok ignored the surrounding gazes and reactions, slowly raising his head.
As the wizard’s gaze instantly pierced through those in the VIP box, and people flinched at the chilling aura.
“The location is not to my liking.”
KABOOM—!!!
The VIP box itself fell apart before Lennok, shattering into pieces.
“Whoa!!”
“Cough, cough!!”
The Designers, who had been in the booth-like room, screamed and coughed alternately, buried among the debris.
Murphy, unable to escape, was also swept away and lay fallen amidst the booth’s wreckage.
Lennok looked at the Designers and the clients beyond the still-lit screens, and let out a faint laugh.
“Just when I thought I’d finally found someone useful, it turns out he was just a discarded toy.”
A whispered message clearly resonated in their ears.
A chilling whisper, as if directly implanting his will into their minds.
Startled by this utterly unfamiliar method of communication, people instinctively covered their ears and backed away, their faces pale.
“I don’t have much patience.”
But Lennok ignored their reactions and quietly said,
“I don’t care what schemes you pull in this city, but you’d best ensure I don’t make a wasted trip.”
“……!!!”
“If something like this happens in front of me again, then I will make you all……”
Lennok smiled, tapping the corpse of the fallen prisoner with his staff.
“—feel this exact sensation.”
[……]
Lennok turned away before hearing a response.
[W-wait a moment……!!]
From beyond the screen, one of the pale-faced clients, nervously glancing around, shouted.
[Give us a chance……!! If, perhaps, you could even show us a fragment of your talent—!!]
Whoosh—!!
As he took one more step, Lennok’s form vanished from the spot.
How immensely powerful the Archwizard was, capable of killing that monstrous prisoner with a single word.
How rare and precious his appearance in that place was to those gathered there.
[Hah……]
At that moment, as the clients, belatedly realizing this, turned their gazes towards Murphy.
“Haaah……”
Murphy too, realizing Lennok’s presence had vanished without a trace, let out a bitter smile.
Whoosh—!!
Lennok landed in a dark alley, took off his coat, slung it over one arm, and turned his back.
“No pursuit. Was I worrying for nothing?”
He had been careful, moving as Van for the first time in a while, but it seemed they hadn’t had the presence of mind to tail him.
Indeed, having turned the tables like that, just cleaning up the project must be overwhelming enough.
Leaving it to Murphy bothered him, but given how things had unfolded, this method was, in many ways, easier for a quick resolution.
An extreme notoriety could sometimes rationalize even illogical actions and behaviors.
Since he had inadvertently gained such infamy, it wouldn’t be unfair to use it this way sometimes.
[……]
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
[It’s nothing.]
“Good. Let’s act appropriately.”
Though he said that, strictly speaking, Lennok had used Adamant Thunder’s infamy to help Murphy, hadn’t he?
It was only right for Murphy to handle the cleanup.
‘After receiving the medical records and confirming my physical condition, I should visit the Vylun Research Institute…… There are many suspicious aspects.’
As Lennok contemplated his future schedule and was about to open the mansion gate and walk inside.
“……”
He realized someone was standing under the streetlamp.
An ethereal, perfect concealment, so complete that even Lennok hadn’t noticed her presence until now.
“Van.”
His gaze met the green eyes of the person standing under the streetlamp.
“Long time no see.”
“……Evelyn.”
Lennok, having unconsciously uttered her name, immediately realized something and fell silent.
There was no pursuit. He had known for a while that no one was following him.
Evelyn had found Lennok’s residence, which he had never revealed, and was waiting for him in person.