Chapter 851: Takeover (19)
Hayward stared at Raphael, dumbfounded, before speaking.
“Siphoning power from the generation facility as if it’s his own is one thing, but the magic he used to turn the entire facility into a fortress is even stranger.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just from what I can see on the monitor, there are over thirty different proxy incantations for the spell.”
Hayward’s gaze shifted to the brilliant flashes of electricity running rampant beyond the monitor.
“The power generated to manage a national park shouldn’t be high-quality. How can he create such powerful magic with such cheap electricity?”
Crackle!!
The swarms of lightning bolts exploded, shifting into dozens of different forms in the air, as lightning toads leaped fearlessly between them.
They excitedly gobbled up the surging electricity from all directions, endlessly swelling in size.
[Ribbit, ribbit.]
The toads, which had grown as large as armored vehicles, let out pleased croaks as they leisurely absorbed the barrage of fire from the soldiers.
One extended its long tongue, snatching a soldier who was raising a rocket launcher from the rear. The soldier, completely electrocuted, collapsed in a heap with a harrowing scream.
[Aaaaaargh!!]
As the screams echoed through the control room’s speakers, Hayward pointed to the clockwork soldiers confronting the military head-on.
“Not only that, but these clockwork soldiers. They’re far too powerful to have been made from broken parts within the facility.”
“…”
“Even if one has mastered creation-type magic or spellcraft, there are limits. For scrap-metal robots to hold their ground against the military unit that was guarding the research facility… It’s absurd.”
Unlike Raphael, Hayward seemed to possess a fair amount of knowledge in mechanical engineering. And because of that, he found it even more incomprehensible how Lennok had managed to raise this mechanical army.
It wasn’t a simple matter of creating a magnetic field to gather parts and form them into robots.
It would be impossible without programming a set of rules and priorities to give the clockwork soldiers’ movements order, allowing them to form ranks and execute combat maneuvers.
Hayward knew that the entire process was impossible without meticulously programming an algorithm based on a logical structure.
A method for creating clockwork soldiers from minimal parts.
An algorithm or program to animate the created soldiers.
A power transmission system to supply and maintain energy for the moving army.
All of it was far too complex to be explained by a few spells or sheer willpower.
Beneath the series of processes that had so effortlessly fortified the entire facility lay thousands of unseen techniques and experiences.
As soon as Hayward witnessed it through the monitor, he recognized its extraordinariness and pointed out what he understood to Lennok.
“…”
Instead of replying, Lennok simply stared at Hayward.
“Wh-what is it…”
Lennok smiled and turned away from the unconsciously intimidated Hayward.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“…”
“If you’re not interested in the business of the underworld, don’t ask so many annoying questions.”
If Hayward had even the slightest connection to the criminal underworld, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of what Lennok had done in Machina.
No, even for someone in the legitimate world, to be this out of touch with the news meant he must have been utterly engrossed in his own work at the lab.
He couldn’t have known that Lennok had returned after working for a good while as a Meister under the name Lyman.
Or that in the process, he had turned the Machine City upside down.
Asking how Lennok could handle such sophisticated creation-type spellcraft with such skill was, in itself, proof that he knew very little about Van.
He had likely only heard of Adamant Thunder’s infamous reputation, without having much interest in his true identity.
Perhaps that was why he could even ask such questions while standing right in front of Lennok.
“Set aside the useless questions and focus on your work. Shouldn’t you be ready to present some useful information to me by now?”
“Th-that’s…!!”
Hayward hastily averted his gaze from Lennok’s sharp interrogation.
“If I’ve humored your claim that you can’t speak of it directly, you should at least show some sincerity. If you’re slower than me, you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”
“I get it, I get it!! How am I supposed to win a data-sorting race against a grand wizard…?!”
“Is this some kind of competition? If we’re pitting our intellects against each other, I’d like to participate as well.”
“Professor, shut it!!”
Though grumbling, Hayward quickly joined Raphael, sorting the data that appeared on the screen.
[Wizard Cultivation Project]
[Profiling: Evan Vylun]
[Universal Magic System 16th Experiment Log]
…
They quickly sorted the data Lennok had mentioned, arranging it neatly for viewing.
Watching the oddly competitive Raphael and the exasperated Hayward continue their work, Lennok picked up the green notebook lying beside him.
He had used a spell called Heavenly Concealment Armored Fortress to fortify the entire power plant and block any external approach.
Now, with the confidential research data from the disk being accessed by his magic and the two professors handling the data classification, there was still something Lennok could do while he remained immobile to supply the mana.
Raphael’s research journal on the druids’ natural spellcraft.
It seemed to be quite an old notebook; the scent of old paper wafted up each time he turned a page.
“Cough.”
Suppressing a cough, he turned the page with one hand.
The journal briefly summarized Raphael’s experiences in Elderwood, the sacred land of the druids.
A disease of unknown origin that had spread among the druids.
Raphael’s journey to treat it, and the data from his research and experiments on natural spellcraft.
As he read the journal intently, Lennok soon realized a rather interesting fact.
‘Raphael’s reputation and standing seem much higher than I thought.’
Although not explicitly stated in the journal, he could sense that the druids assisting Raphael were incredibly polite and cooperative.
It wasn’t just because he had cured their disease; the journal indirectly conveyed a sense of hospitality, as if they held Raphael himself in very high esteem.
The academic world of theoretical magic, a world Lennok had paid little attention to.
Raphael was likely one of the most distinguished authorities within it.
He could guess as much from the way Hayward, despite his clear dislike for Raphael, couldn’t treat him carelessly.
‘A disease that inflicts physical transformation, regardless of whether one has learned natural spellcraft….’
A terrible disease where the body becomes part of a plant, fixed to the spot.
Many druids had lost their lives to this epidemic, and dozens had been forced to cut off their own limbs.
Most of the journal consisted of Raphael’s experiments to increase the stability of natural spellcraft, aiming to use the druids’ immutability to block the disease.
Just by glancing at the detailed experimental records and processes, even Lennok inadvertently realized what an outstanding researcher Raphael was.
To offer up a research journal recorded with such care just to meet Evan Vylun… Raphael was no ordinary man either.
Lennok’s eyes lit up as he quickly read through the journal and confirmed its conclusion.
‘The abnormal stability of natural spellcraft is based on placing the origin of the spell outside the spell itself.’
It perceives the form by observing it simultaneously from inside and outside the spell, forcibly stabilizing it.
In that process, even if one side—either internal or external to the spell—is altered, it is immediately restored using the image observed from the opposite side.
Normally, this would only be possible through massive mana consumption, but druids using natural spellcraft could perform this entire process effortlessly, without any power drain.
‘The mana consumption will increase, but the basic principle itself can be replicated with magic. No, at this rate, it might even be…’
It was effective enough to be applied to his incarnation body right now.
Thanks to how meticulously Raphael had documented the principles and flow of the spellcraft, it wasn’t difficult for Lennok’s intuition to follow along.
Though the mana cost would be high, it seemed he could definitively stabilize his currently unstable incarnation body and use it as a clone.
He had seen potential in natural spellcraft, but this result exceeded his initial expectations.
As Lennok, coughing, was lost in thought over this unexpected gain…
Raphael, glancing around furtively, whispered to Hayward.
His voice was extremely faint, his breath held so Lennok wouldn’t hear.
“He’s been coughing for a while now.”
“What of it?”
“…I’ve heard rumors that Adamant Thunder is in poor health, but seeing it now, it seems to be more than that.”
“…”
“For a grand wizard to be unable to stop a slight cough, showing it in front of us, it must mean—”
Lennok closed the research journal and said,
“I can hear you.”
“Wh-whoa!!”
Raphael clamped his mouth shut like a clam, straightened his neck, and hardened his expression into one of solemnity.
But he couldn’t hide the cold sweat trickling down his temples.
As Hayward gave him a rather pathetic look, Raphael’s eyes darted around.
“To be worried about my health in a situation like this, Professor Raphael, your heart is as vast as the sea.”
Lennok smiled and turned his head.
“On the other hand, you don’t seem very worried about your own life.”
“…”
Raphael remained silent, sweating profusely, before slowly beginning to speak.
“W-well… this is a completely meaningless question, but may I ask just one thing?”
“Professor, if it’s meaningless, why ask?”
Ignoring Hayward’s jab, Raphael waited for Lennok’s response. Lennok nodded.
The professor, his eyes darting quickly, asked.
“Just suppose, purely hypothetically… what would you do if someone tried to subjugate you?”
“…”
“Subjugate? What does that mean?”
Hayward tilted his head, not understanding the word, but Lennok immediately grasped Raphael’s intention and gave a bitter smile.
The Adamant Thunder Subjugation Plan, currently proposed by Deadrise and known to Pandemonium.
Raphael was mentioning it to him now, trying to gauge his reaction.
Should he be called bold for probing Lennok about the subjugation plan at this moment, or just fearless?
Either way, it seemed clear that Raphael was completely inept at this kind of reconnaissance.
‘I can’t tell who he’s trying to help.’
It would make sense if Raphael was trying to confirm Adamant Thunder’s reaction for Pandemonium’s sake.
Conversely, it would also make sense if he was trying to secretly warn Lennok about the subjugation plan.
As a new member of Pandemonium, it was plausible for Raphael to be gathering intelligence.
And as someone who now knew Adamant Thunder was deeply involved with Evan Vylun, it was also a believable action for him to try and give a covert warning.
But was there any reason to play dumb and engage in a war of nerves with Raphael over this fact at this point?
Just as Lennok was thinking that and about to dismiss Raphael’s question, Hayward, looking at his screen, spoke.
“The data classification is almost finished. I’ll bundle the files you were interested in and send them over at once.”
The restoration and loading of the confidential data stolen from the Vylun Research Institute was nearly complete, and now the classification was being finalized.
Click.
“This should contain the gist of the research institute’s inner workings that you were curious about.”
Hayward handed the detached screen to Lennok, his gaze shifting away slightly.
“Let me say this again, I’m not the mastermind behind this. I just lent a hand to a necessary plan.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“So, don’t get angry, and… please explain it well to Professor Vylun.”
Hayward answered, feigning indifference.
“Once you see that, you’ll understand why the Central Council and the other researchers cooperated with this project.”
“…”
Lennok looked at Hayward in silence for a moment before opening the [Wizard Cultivation Project] overview at the very top of the screen.
The overview detailed the thought process and circumstances behind why such a project was initiated.
=The Universal Magic System founded by Evan Vylun is a type of refined magic based on formless ancient magic.
A mechanical investigation and report, devoid of any emotion.
=Research on the Universal Magic System is ongoing, but in the absence of results, one conclusion has been reached.
=Unless one is a wizard who has mastered the Universal Magic System, one cannot properly tamper with it.
=Using the Universal Magic System through a learning device is not the same as mastering the magic; it is merely a result of benefiting from its versatility.
=To properly continue the research, a wizard who has mastered the Universal Magic System is required.
=Therefore, the following premise is established to begin a new project.
Lennok let out a dry laugh as he read the sentence on the very next line.
=Premise 1. Evan Vylun is an artificial human.
“What is this…”
Just as Lennok muttered those words and was about to swipe the screen to check what was below…
BOOM—!!!
One of the monitors displaying the control room’s view was plunged into pitch-black darkness.
An ominous tremor, incomparable to any of the impacts the power plant had sustained until now.
[Gyaoooo—!!]
The toad spirits made of lightning clusters let out harrowing cries from all directions.
CRUNCH!!
The steel army that had been blocking the path was crushed in an instant.
A purple flash of light flared, and amplified gravity crushed the metal chunks, which were then painted over by a deep darkness.
Fwoosh!!
Beyond the monitor, the shape of a pitch-black visor emerged from the darkness.
Its gaze fell on the surveillance equipment that was openly recording it as it slowly walked forward.
Realizing it was looking directly at him watching the situation from the control room, Lennok stood up from his seat.
“Reinforcements from the special agency have arrived. It seems the City Council has made up its mind.”
“R-Reinforcements?!”
Black and purple. And a silver visor he’d never seen before.
The powerful individuals who had appeared at the end of Pandemonium’s interim report had broken their long silence and begun to move.