Chapter 855: The Takeover (23)

Ever since hearing about the demonic giant’s ability from the Black Visor, Lennok had been quite intrigued by the unbeatable contract.

Hell’s Bargain. The unbeatable contract. What kind of power was it to be undefeated?

Was it a power of causal reversal, forcibly overturning a decided outcome?

Or was it a power that maintained a stalemate by halting the very juncture where victory and defeat were decided?

For Lennok, who had always fought against all manner of superhumans and monsters with only victory as his goal, it was a rather unfamiliar concept.

But if an Aegis superhuman could wield it so readily in front of him, it surely wasn’t an ability constrained by the scale of power.

That was why Lennok, having taken the demonic giant, had intended to test that ability against Aegis, but—

“At this rate, an experiment won’t even be possible.”

Tududuk!!

[Ugh…!!]

The Yellow Visor, caught in the giant’s hand, which was bent sharply like a rake, fell limply to the ground.

Next to him lay the other squad members who had been swept away by the demonic giant earlier.

The demon clutched its own head with one hand, shaking it as if to say it couldn’t be helped.

Watching the bizarre movements of the demon, seemingly intoxicated by its own power, Lennok sighed and shook his head.

“So to avoid defeat, you first have to be driven to a situation where defeat is possible. I didn’t expect this.”

The demonic giant’s own physical prowess was so overwhelming that the exhausted Aegis members couldn’t satisfy the activation conditions.

The superhumans, who had expended no small amount of energy breaking through the fortifications of the research institute and the power facility, were no match for it at all.

[Conversely, we’d like to ask how this is even possible, Adamant Thunder.]

The Jade Visor replied quietly, clutching her twisted wrist.

[What the Execution Squad Leader uses is a forbidden art, even among black magic, that draws out power exceeding the vessel.]

“…”

[We stood here prepared to sacrifice our lives, yet how can you command that demon without so much as a simple contract?]

Though she tried to answer calmly, the Jade Visor’s gaze couldn’t properly meet Lennok’s.

In the series of commotions that stretched from the research institute to the power facility, she had realized just how dangerous a man this wizard was.

‘The fact that he can hold a conversation is not a good sign…’

Magic that had reached the realm of mortals. A transcendent ability that freely wielded even powers other than mana as if they were his own.

Limitless chanting that was impossible to fathom, and combat experience that far surpassed the superhumans gathered here.

But what made Adamant Thunder most dangerous was the fact that he was a being who could converse normally and express emotions.

Adamant Thunder was not trapped in his own world like other wizards, nor did he look down on humans like insects.

Even while standing at the center of chaos in pursuit of blood and battle, his eyes coldly surveyed his surroundings, clearly perceiving everything.

Place and situation, conditions and environment. He even picked and chose people, assembling the board as he wished.

It was proof that he possessed enough self-control to listen, endure, and converse for the sake of his goal, even if it meant sacrificing efficiency or time.

To the Jade Visor, that was a madness far more dangerous than rampaging blindly.

She felt she understood why the Upper House had sent someone directly to announce their position, why the veiled Elder Council had intervened to mediate the situation.

Just as the Director of the Agents had warned, just as the city council officials had expressed the same sentiment, there was a horror there that could not be explained by his blood-soaked infamy alone.

Outwardly, she had asked about the black magic, and the Jade Visor was quickly organizing her position and thinking about their future treatment when, suddenly.

Hwook!!

Her body, along with the other Aegis members, was flung backward on the spot.

[Ugh…!!]

“I didn’t want to use drastic measures, but I have no choice.”

Having instantly pushed away the other members, leaving only the Black Visor, Lennok extended his hand.

The motionless Black Visor was dragged before Lennok by the gesture.

“Come closer.”

[…!!!]

His insides must have been churning from having his Mind Imprint forcibly canceled, yet he endured without a single scream.

The moment Lennok tapped the helmet of the Black Visor, who was barely standing balanced.

Thump!!

The visor flew off as if ricocheting, revealing a young man with damp black hair.

A sharp face, covered in blood as if he had vomited it. Cold sweat dripped down, perhaps from the pain.

Lennok didn’t even look at the young man’s face as he draped the chain hanging from the giant’s arm over the young man’s neck.

Clank!!

As the young man’s expression contorted at the chain fastened like a shackle, the demonic giant shrugged.

“Make the contract.”

“…What did you say?”

“The original plan was for this one to contract with you, wasn’t it? Finish it.”

Lennok said, letting his left hand hang in the air.

“The unbeatable ability. If satisfying the conditions with the power of these others is impossible, then I’ll test it myself.”

A spiral of lightning bloomed from his fingertips, instantly twisting desperately and flaring in mid-air.

A destructive magic that ranked among the top in anti-personnel power within Lennok’s unique lightning magic repertoire.

Thundercoil of Annihilation.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!!!!

A blue glow stained the view, as if it would incinerate the young man at any moment.

The screams and shouts of the squad members echoed from all sides.

“It’s no use.”

But the young man gritted his teeth and glared at Lennok’s face.

“The moment the contract passed, it became impossible for me to retrieve it. It’ll be a dog’s death either way.”

The Giant of Black Calamity, summoned through Hell’s Bargain, was not a being that completely followed the young man’s control.

If the demon took a liking to Lennok and changed its allegiance, that was the end of it.

Even though the young man was the summoner, he could not go against the demon’s will and take back the contract.

“To be able to call it a dog’s death even when you think you’re the one who’ll die… you have guts.”

Lennok chuckled.

“But I wasn’t talking to you.”

“…What?”

The moment the young man questioned him, he felt the chain on his neck resonate strongly.

The demonic giant standing behind Lennok was contracting with the young man of its own will, attempting to draw out his power.

The moment the young man’s expression wavered for the first time, realizing Lennok had been directly commanding the demon, not him.

Lennok, grasping the lightning twisting in the air, slammed the Thundercoil of Annihilation into the young man’s solar plexus.

Paaaaaaah!!!

Dozens of blue lightning petals bloomed from the front and back of his upper body, rotating counter-clockwise.

Each blooming petal, containing an immense amount of heat and fission, churned and warped space.

Realizing his body would evaporate without a trace, the Aegis members were about to move when—

The lightning from the Thundercoil of Annihilation that Lennok had struck him with was sucked into the young man’s body as if it were a lie, and vanished.

Hwaak!!

“Uh…?”

“It disappeared?”

Even Raphael and Hayward, who had been watching the situation silently, muttered in bewilderment at the unreal dissipation of mana.

The intensely radiating heat subsided as if it had been a lie, and the young man’s body, which had received the magic, was completely unharmed.

But Lennok’s eyes glinted with an unparalleled interest.

“It’s not annihilation.”

“…Cough!”

The young man’s complexion turned dark, and he soon collapsed, bowing his head.

He was barely maintaining consciousness, his hands trembling with effort as if most of his bodily functions were paralyzed.

“Not absorption, decomposition, or dismantlement either. Is it a concept closer to transference?”

Immediately after Lennok muttered, naturally taking a step back from the young man.

Woooong!!

Blue lightning erupted from the demonic giant’s fingertips, soaring explosively into the sky above the control room.

The lightning from the Thundercoil of Annihilation that Lennok had unleashed erupted a moment later from the demonic giant’s fingertips.

Kraaaaaash!!!

“Uwaaah!!”

As the unstable power facility was completely half-destroyed and debris began to fall, Hayward yelped and rolled away to dodge the fragments.

But Lennok paid no mind to the reactions around him and muttered.

“The moment it reacts to a stimulus above a certain level, it sends it to a specific space, nullifying the physical damage.”

“Cough, cough!!”

The chain that had been tied to the collapsed young man fell away, and the demonic giant withdrew its hand as if finding the whole thing absurd.

It had briefly contracted with the young man at Lennok’s command, but it showed no interest in the act itself.

“A stable and vast otherworld capable of temporarily accepting my magic…”

Lennok muttered, gazing at the chain swaying slowly in the air.

“Is this the concept of hell that supports the unbeatable contract?”

“Cough!! It’s not… supposed to be like this…”

The young man replied, his face pale as if he would collapse at any moment.

“Your magic… that side couldn’t receive it and forcibly returned it. That’s why the backlash all—”

“Focused on you, the contract’s subject. I understand.”

Lennok nodded as he said this.

The unbeatable ability. He thought he now understood why the demonic giant’s ability had such a name.

An ability that, upon impact, sent the stimulus inflicted on the user to an unknown subspace.

If a user could freely wield such an ability through a contract, they wouldn’t be easily defeated by any enemy.

However, because it failed to properly accept the magic Lennok had fired, the contractor had borne the full backlash generated during the transference process.

Considering the Black Visor had called this process itself Hell’s Bargain, the identity of the subspace was likely the space defined as [Hell] in black magic.

If so, why did Myeong always keep such a summon by his side?

The demonic giant’s power was formidable, but Myeong was not a wizard weak enough to rely on a summon’s power.

Perhaps Myeong had some business in that subspace to which things were transferred, the so-called hell.

Lost in thought, Lennok casually gestured behind him.

Chwaak!!

“Uwaaah!!”

Raphael and Hayward were dragged out with a scream, sliding to the Black Visor’s feet.

Lennok nodded towards Aegis, who were looking this way with dubious expressions.

“Take them. This should be enough justification for a retreat, right?”

[…What are you planning to do?]

“I still have things to do.”

It was a fact that he had researched a considerable portion of the universal magic at the institute, so he planned to stop by and retrieve the data before leaving.

There might be some good ideas or themes for creating new universal magic.

[…]

The approaching Aegis members immediately took custody of Raphael and Hayward.

The members disappeared one by one, slowly looking back at Lennok with wary expressions.

Just as the Black Visor, who had remained until the very end, was about to walk away.

“For someone who supposedly had black magic imprinted, you know quite a lot about the spellcraft.”

Lennok asked.

“The same goes for your comment about mimicking ancient bloodlines… there’s information one wouldn’t know unless it’s their origin.”

[What are you trying to say?]

“Were you a Gravekeeper?”

Instantly, the Black Visor’s atmosphere turned incredibly sharp.

A sensitive and touchy reaction, a stark contrast to the composure he had maintained until now.

Lennok nodded.

“A group of black wizards who revere the Nether King like a god. Said to reside in the Black Forest, aiming to pass down forgotten spellcraft. I’ve met one of them before.”

[…]

“He knew things similar to you, and he wielded very similar magic.”

The black wizard Baegon, who had called himself Myeong’s disciple, only to be killed by Myeong himself.

Lennok knew that his origin was a group of black wizards called the Gravekeepers, a gathering of those who revered Myeong.

The Black Visor’s incredibly deep knowledge and experience with black magic.

Lennok had intuited that it wasn’t knowledge acquired through an imprint and had been wondering about his origins.

“If you were a black wizard to begin with, you’d be able to use the imprinted spellcraft much more freely than others.”

Lennok said, taking a new cigarette from his coat and lighting it.

“I suspect the unusually strong superhumans within Aegis were powered up through a similar process.”

[…What does that have to do with a wizard like you?]

“I have business with the black wizard the Gravekeepers revere.”

Lennok replied leisurely.

“I want to know where I have to go to meet them.”

[…]

Quite some time had passed since he had gotten to know Myeong, but Lennok actually didn’t know much about him.

Only that he was a very powerful black wizard, had lived for a very long time, and was once from one of the noblest bloodlines on this continent.

How he came to join Pandemonium, the reason he committed acts of destruction under the name Gabihaeng.

Why he was aligned with the Director’s will, where he was, or what he was doing—he knew none of it.

Therefore, if he needed to meet Myeong, it would be better to find his traces somewhere other than Pandemonium.

And Lennok thought it was highly likely that the Gravekeepers would know of Myeong’s whereabouts.

If they were people who revered and worshipped Myeong like a god, they would at least have a detailed grasp of his activities.

However, the Black Visor stared at Lennok for a moment before shaking his head with difficulty.

[You’re mistaken. I am no longer a Gravekeeper. I have no connection with them anymore.]

“Not even their whereabouts?”

[They stay in the Black Forest, but that’s only for their public activities. They are wanderers who do not keep a base in one place.]

“…”

[There isn’t much I can say, or know, about them. But…]

The hesitating Black Visor replied.

[The sanctuary where the Nether King first began his Gabihaeng… you might be able to meet the Gravekeepers there.]

“A sanctuary for Gabihaeng?”

[I do not know the specific location. I only heard that it lies at the end of the lowest abyss within the Black Forest.]

“Hmm…”

The end of the abyss. That was likely connected to the concept of hell that Lennok had just experienced.

Should he be satisfied for now with having found a clue to meet Myeong directly?

As the pondering Lennok nodded, the Black Visor slowly turned to leave.

Once all the Aegis members had left the facility, he felt the earth tremble and the building begin to collapse.

Kururung!!

Fragments of worn stone and steel frames rained down from all sides, striking the floor violently.

But Lennok, without any thought of dodging the debris falling from the ceiling, was lost in thought.

Kwang!!

Lennok turned his gaze as the blackened arm of the giant, spread like an umbrella over his head, took the brunt of the falling debris.

“Right, you were here.”

[…]

Silently blocking the space above Lennok’s head with one arm, it shrugged as it took the hit from the falling steel reinforcement bars.

He hadn’t noticed when facing it as Myeong’s summon, but its non-verbal expressions were surprisingly clear.

Contrary to its cruel appearance, he thought it might be quite rich in emotion.

Kugwagwagwa!!

Watching the demonic giant unflinchingly endure the countless falling rocks, Lennok was lost in thought.

“What should I do…”

After a moment’s thought, Lennok immediately shook his head.

“Thanks for making the situation easier, but it’ll be difficult to take you in.”

[…?]

The demonic giant tilted its head as if it didn’t understand his words.

The Black Visor had called this the Giant of Black Calamity, a testament to the unbeatable contract.

It was undoubtedly a summon that was far more powerful than Lennok had thought, and one that harbored a unique ability.

The problem was that this demon didn’t listen to its summoner’s control and was a being powerful enough to not be bound by summoning spellcraft.

It was on Lennok’s side now, but it wouldn’t be strange if it changed its mind at any moment.

As long as he didn’t know why the demonic giant had sided with him, he couldn’t ignore the possibility of it becoming an enemy.

“I’m not a black wizard, nor am I versed enough in summoning to maintain a masterless summon for long.”

Lennok smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

“You should return on your own when your preserved mana runs out. Your summoner has left, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

[…!]

Finally realizing that Lennok intended to leave it here, the demon grabbed its own head with both hands.

[~~~~~!!!]

It twisted its muscular upper body back and forth in an agonized gesture, as if letting out a silent scream.

From within Lennok’s coat, Davi watched the grotesque movement with a suspicious expression.

[This isn’t an organism, but it’s not inorganic either… What on earth is it?]

Clatter.

The demonic giant, watching his reaction, hastily grabbed the chain bound to its own arm and carefully placed it on Lennok’s hand.

When Lennok let it go without taking it, it didn’t give up and grabbed the chain again, placing it on his hand once more.

Clatter-clatter.

Its will was so clear that one could see at a glance that it was saying to take it with him from here, whatever it took.

Lennok looked at the sight and spoke.

“It’s not that there’s no way to keep you without a contract.”

[!!!!]

“However, you would have to promise to diligently help me with my work from now on. Would that be alright?”

It hastily nodded its head, then quickly put the chain from its wrist around its own neck and pulled.

It couldn’t speak, but could it be a misconception that its intention seemed more blatant than if it could?

Lennok smiled meaningfully and reached into his coat.

“Contract established. Shall we start with the easy things, one step at a time?”

Early morning. The Elemental Studies department building at Rebatenon Magic University.

Under the normally deserted glass-colored common area, a crowd of over a hundred reporters and undergraduate students was buzzing.

The third thesis. The private research lab that had not seen a single light on since the universal magic was announced.

Evan Vylun had returned to Rebatenon after several months.