Chapter 867: The Eye That Sees Fate (3)
Saturation Armament Protocol 666. Contagious Incineration—Crimsonflame Warhead Deployment.
The countless muzzles of flame that had shot up from the lake’s surface simultaneously spat fire, sweeping through the falling missiles.
A searing gust of wind washed over the water’s surface like a breath as the malfunctioning projectiles all exploded in mid-air.
The flames evaporated all the mist rising from the lake, stretching out to draw long tails of light.
Kwoooaaaaargh!!
The pillar of fire, rotating in a semicircle, foamed and billowed overhead, indiscriminately incinerating both the water’s surface and the ground.
A wave of fire built a bridge over the lake, as if connecting the small boat to the distant shore.
The armored vehicles at the edge of the lake instantly melted, and people poured out from inside them.
Watching Lennok’s magic ignite a fire on water to melt the very ground, Patisha muttered in disbelief.
“For intercepting projectiles, isn’t your method a bit excessive…?”
“I’m in the middle of calibrating.”
Fwoosh!!
Lennok took a drag from his cigar and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, slowly withdrawing his mana as he retorted.
“Right now, it’s harder to reduce the power, so don’t expect me to hold back.”
“What kind of un-wizardly statement is that…?”
As a native of Kundara with some knowledge of spellcraft, she seemed to find Lennok’s words hard to believe.
“Isn’t an incantation what determines the range and power through a combination of mana and will-thought? At this rate, not only us, but you too will be swept up in the aftermath of your own magic.”
“It’s hard to explain… a complicated problem.”
[Fire Soul Subservience]
Kraaaaang!!
Sighing faintly, he slashed his hand downwards, and the wall of fire that rose up split the melted armored vehicles in the distance vertically in two.
“Hh…!”
The only reaction was Lapis sucking in a sharp breath at the surreal power and range, and Patisha’s expression turning even stranger.
“Lady Lapis, is this man truly the ultimate Watcher you spoke of…?”
“…”
“I am not a Watcher.”
However, what Lennok had told Patisha about the difficulty of calibration was not a lie.
It was because after the power of the Black Sun’s Fall had grown stronger, the potency of his pyromancy had surged, making fine control difficult.
It might have been different if he used it as frequently as his lightning magic, but unleashing pyromancy—already specialized for diffusion and amplification—after so long made power regulation anything but easy.
“I’ll try to get the hang of it as fast as possible, but I can’t make any promises, so dodge on your own.”
“No, you keep saying these outrageous things… are you even here to escort Lady Lapis—?!”
The moment the crane, craning its neck stiffly, cried out in protest, sharp arrows shot up from beneath the water, aimed at Lapis.
Shweeeek!!
Dozens of purple-tinged arrowheads launched from below the water’s surface, targeting Lapis.
They tore through the water from the depths of the lake at near-subsonic speeds, spinning violently.
Pabababat!!
Thin wires attached to the arrowtips simultaneously fanned out over the small boat, trying to bind the hull, cinching it tight.
A swift encirclement and all-out assault, as if they had prepared for this exact situation in advance.
But Lapis, far from panicking, simply crossed her hands and pulled, her wrists grazing each other.
“Sight-Binding Dominion. Sight-Seeking Citadel. Sight-Tracing Matrix.”
The moment she formed a hand seal and raised her hands after the three-part incantation.
“Causal Distortion. Break!”
The arrows aimed at the boat all bent in bizarre directions, then ricocheted away as if deflected, plunging back into the lake.
Fwubububung!!!
Dozens of projectiles sank into the lake without so much as grazing the boat, kicking up small splashes of water.
In that time, Lennok, having amplified the power of the Crimsonflame Warhead Deployment and obliterated all the launchers, turned his gaze.
Jijijijik!!!
“The power of Heavenly Sight. A method to distort the vision of inanimate objects and forcibly twist their trajectory?”
Having faced the consciousness construct of an Ascendant, Lennok could immediately understand just how close Lapis had come to obtaining that power.
To forcibly twist and bend the path of an inanimate arrow, it must be a power she gained while adjusting the ability into the form of spellcraft.
But before Lapis could answer, dozens of black figures shot up from beneath the lake and swarmed onto the small boat.
Chalseok!!
They were clad in sleek suits like wetsuits, with masks resembling gas masks covering their faces.
They held personal crossbows in one hand and firearms or polearms in the other, surrounding them in an instant.
The assailants, dripping the lake’s transparent, contaminated water from their bodies, climbed onto all sides of the small boat and stared intently at Lapis.
[Eyes of Blue.]
[Lighthouse Keeper.]
A muffled, distorted voice leaked from beyond a gas mask.
[Granddaughter of Heavenly Sight.]
[You truly came alone.]
[Do you not value your life?]
“If you have something to say, shouldn’t you first reveal where you’re from?”
Even as the small boat listed and swayed under the weight of dozens of assailants, Lapis remained unshaken.
Instead, she looked around with a calm, smiling face, merely lowering her posture slightly as if to show courtesy.
“If you are displeased with me meeting the Vulcan City Council, I would like to hear the reason.”
[Reason?]
[What explanation is needed?]
Click!!
The archers loaded new arrows onto their crossbows, drew the strings, and fired at Lapis and Lennok from all sides.
Shwaaaaaek!!
But a wall of fire erupted from beneath Lapis’s feet, incinerating the shower of arrows.
Immediately casting aside their crossbows, the assailants closed the distance, splitting into two groups.
One group clung to Lennok as if to obstruct his view, while the other group acted ruthlessly, smashing through the wall of fire to shatter the boat’s floor and hull, seemingly to abduct Lapis.
Paaat!! Kagagagak!!
With a sound like something violently scraping the bottom of the hull, they plunged daggers with bizarrely twisted blades into Lennok’s limbs.
Just as the nasty purple blades tore through cloth and flesh, aiming to inject a lethal poison beneath his veins.
Droplets of poison clinging to the tips of the blades ignited in reverse, melting the suits they wore.
Pyromancy Exclusive Magic
Property Transformation—Transition Resonance
[Hexa-Chromatic Flare]
[Guided Flame Transference]
Fwoosh!!
The flames clinging to one assailant’s body leaped through the air, transferring to another.
As if connected by dazzling threads of fire, the flames spread to the bodies of dozens of assailants on the boat, instantly burning away even the wires draped over it.
Unable to withstand the heat, several assailants fell from the boat back into the lake.
Chiiiiik!!
[Gyaaaaaaaahk!!]
The melted suits failed to protect their bodies from the lake’s contaminated water, and horrifying screams echoed along with the sound of melting flesh.
Bulge, bulge!!
The bodies of the assailants who fell into the lake immediately began to swell on the spot, expanding as if they were about to explode.
[Igik… geugeugeuk!!]
The assailants attempting to self-destruct on all sides of the boat, and the movements of the corps at the lake’s edge, gathering their equipment to prepare another bombardment to prevent the boat from arriving.
As soon as Lapis saw this, she began to form another hand seal.
“Sir Evan. When I give the signal, immediately—”
“No.”
Lennok stepped in front of Lapis, lightly pushing her shoulder.
With just a light touch, Lapis’s body gently sank down as if supported by an invisible hand.
“Don’t waste your will-thought in a place like this. You’ll need to conserve your strength until you meet with the City Council, won’t you?”
“But…”
“There’s no need to help unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Lennok replied slowly as he drew up his mana.
“This is what I came here for in the first place.”
Hwaak!!
Flames erupted from beneath the wizard’s feet, instantly forming a circular ring that floated in the air.
Standing at the center of the blazing magic circle, his hands moved gracefully, quickly forming seals around the circle and cramming in the incantation.
“Blaze, Shatter, Cast, Fire, Unleash. Designation declared.”
A complex resonance incantation that combined five property transformations under a single chant.
The destructive jade flame that the Witch of Conflagration, Tatiana, had once shown him dripped like a tear from the center of the magic circle.
Pyromancy Exclusive Magic
5-Chant Complex Resonance
[Advent of Flame: Blazing Spiral]
[Fivefold Metal Seal]
[Super-Meltdown]
Kung!!
The lake evaporated and the earth melted.
The moment the incantation ended, formless heat enveloped the world, swallowing and incinerating everything with a shape.
Kwaooooooooh!!!
“Keok…!!”
“Geub…!!”
Superhumans who had been hiding under the lake in wetsuits floated to the surface, clutching their throats with both hands.
Even the screams of the soldiers who had been spasming and clutching their own legs as they melted along with the ground below them were silenced.
The tires of the armored vehicles melted, and soon even the metal chassis turned to liquid and flowed away.
A huge crater formed, centered on the surface of the lake where Lennok stood, caving inward and spewing steam and frictional heat.
Sheeeeeeet!!
The water and earth of the lake burned, evaporated, and rose, and the heat distorted the view, creating a heat haze.
By the time the small boat reached the edge of the lake through the thick, spreading hot mist.
No more screams or shouts could be heard from around the lake.
Chiik!!
Lennok scattered his mana over the land that was so superheated it was melting in real-time.
A large-scale area-of-effect spellcraft that crushed and melted the assailants attempting to explode on the boat and the entire corps at the lake’s edge that had been preparing another attack.
In its aftermath, about half of the vast lake had completely dried up and was now violently churning as it refilled with water.
A strange result, effectively the same as having prevented further damage by simply overwhelming them with power.
“…The instantaneous output alone is among the best I’ve seen from any wizard. Was he always one to fight in this manner?”
“I don’t think he was this extreme before…”
“Let’s go. I left one armored vehicle.”
Leaving Lapis and Patisha, who were staring speechless at the tragedy on the ground, Lennok started walking first.
Sarak!
A path of pure white ice extended from the small boat, forming a thin bridge to the ground untouched by the heat.
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
Patisha said as she helped Lapis walk.
“After turning the surroundings into such a hellscape, how could a human mode of transport possibly maintain its form—”
Vroooom!!
Patisha fell silent upon seeing the armored vehicle, engine running, parked before the bridge of ice.
Lennok, watching Lapis carefully walk along the ice bridge after retrieving the small boat, answered.
“It’s not hard to save one vehicle if you make preparations before the incantation. More importantly…”
Klak!!
“Uwaah!!”
As he wrenched open the driver’s-side door, the driver who had been hiding inside, trembling, shrieked and tumbled out.
Lennok grabbed the collar of the driver, who tried to flee without a second glance.
“I have a few things to ask a survivor.”
Fwoosh!!”
“Gyaah, uwaaah!! It’s hot!!”
The moment Lennok’s hand grabbed him, the driver’s collar burst into flames, instantly engulfing his body in fire.
Forgetting his attempt to escape, the driver screamed and writhed from the heat searing his body.
Lennok kicked the head of the man who was spasming, grabbing handfuls of dirt and rubbing it on his body as he rolled on the ground.
Thwack!!
“Cough…!! The Eyes of Blue… so you had an ace up your sleeve…”
The driver, letting out a weak cough, looked at Lennok with hazy eyes and spoke.
“There was no mention… of a wizard who could unleash this kind of firepower being with you…”
“Looks like your superiors gave you bad information.”
Lennok replied with a smile.
“You’re about to die because of it. Shouldn’t you get some revenge on those friends of yours?”
“Hehe… cough, cough!! I acknowledge the power that incinerated the assault force…”
It was difficult to even breathe due to the heat flowing in through his respiratory tract. The driver gasped desperately and barely managed to speak.
“But a mad wizard lives in this city…”
“…What?”
“Killing a wizard who’s at the mercy of his own power… would be no difficult task for him…”
Looking up at Lennok with hazy eyes, he grinned.
“You won’t last long… Just you wait…”
“…”
Lennok stood up, leaving the driver who had died with a smile frozen on his face.
Lapis, who had been listening to their conversation from behind, muttered with a puzzled expression.
“A way to deal with wizards… Could they have known I asked you for help, Sir Evan?”
“No, more likely…”
Lennok started to say something, but then just changed the subject.
“There was no pursuit until Evelyn and I reached the lake. That means they knew the coordinates in advance and came here.”
“…”
Seeing Lapis’s grave expression, it seemed he didn’t need to hear an answer.
“These people aren’t just some third party who dislikes you making contact with the Vulcan City Council.”
Lennok said as he used a magic scribe to drag away the driver’s corpse.
“Someone within the City Council itself, who is unhappy about this, leaked the information to the outside.”
It meant that apart from the council inviting Lapis, there were just as many inside who did not welcome her.
Looking at the pensive Lapis, Lennok gestured with his head toward the armored vehicle.
“Let’s get moving.”
He had Davi hack the ignition and immediately stomped on the accelerator.
Quickly picking up speed, he left the lakeside, swerving this way and that.
Skreeee!!
Checking the side mirror for any more pursuers, Lennok gripped the wheel, looked back, and spoke.
“Once we reach the nearby city, we’ll ditch this car and switch. What time did you say the appointment with the City Council was?”
Patisha, who was standing uncomfortably in the back seat with her wings folded, answered.
“Noon, one day from now. After the official discussion at City Hall, an announcement is scheduled immediately.”
“City Hall?”
“Because we must move to District 19 to perform the ritual right after the negotiations are over.”
Patisha answered again on Lapis’s behalf.
“It is the minimum procedure required to acquire the authority to enter the restricted zone.”
“Assuming you successfully enter District 19, how long will the ritual take? An estimate is fine.”
Lapis thought for a moment before answering shortly.
“The ritual itself doesn’t take long. What’s needed are the preparations to conduct it… I’ll need at least two hours.”
“Too long.”
“Wizard, some large-scale rituals can take months or even years. This amount of time can hardly be called long—”
Thump!!
The armored vehicle shook violently, and Patisha’s long head, which had been about to protest, slammed into the ceiling.
“~~!!!”
With an indescribable cry, she flapped her wings wildly. For a spiritual beast, she didn’t seem very reliable.
As they entered a paved road, the shaking of the armored vehicle finally subsided noticeably.
Lennok slowly turned the steering wheel, blending in with the vehicles entering the city center as he spoke.
“Once we enter the city, attempts like this will become more frequent. They might even interfere while the ritual is in progress. So I want to ask you here.”
Turning his gaze completely toward Lapis, Lennok tilted his head slightly and asked.
“What is it you’re trying to gain in this city, to the point of breaking the non-aggression pact of your autonomous region?”
Although he asked Lapis this, Lennok didn’t expect an answer.
He had heard the inner story from the consciousness construct of Heavenly Sight, but he couldn’t be sure if Lapis was properly aware of it.
Perhaps the act of Lapis finding that out for herself was close to her true purpose.
If Lennok’s job was to watch over that journey, he should at least leave her room to think for herself.
But Lapis, who had been sitting in the back seat watching the cityscape of Vulcan pass by, turned her head as soon as she heard Lennok’s question.
“Ah, I haven’t properly explained it to you yet, Sir Evan. I’m on my way to meet my grandmother.”
“What?”
“Lady Lapis…!”
Patisha flinched and placed a crane wing on Lapis’s shoulder, but Lapis turned her head with a stern expression.
“Patisha. Sir Evan came to help us, risking danger. It’s only right that I tell him this.”
“That’s not the issue. If you speak of related information aloud, he will notice, too.”
Clacking her long crane’s beak, Patisha looked around cautiously and whispered quickly.
“Perhaps he is already listening…!!”
“And because of that concern, you want me to keep the details of our deal a secret from Sir Evan?”
Lapis firmly refuted it.
“If I fail because I left no room for doubt, then so be it. It would mean this whole endeavor had no meaning beyond that anyway.”
“…”
Patisha, looking surprised at Lapis, said.
“You are different. To go this far for someone who isn’t even a Watcher—”
“Doubt? Was there another part of the negotiation with the City Council that had to be kept secret?”
Lennok asked, glancing back at Lapis.
It was surprising that Lapis herself was properly aware of the goal to meet Heavenly Sight, but it seemed there was more to the story.
“Ah, you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. As long as my job doesn’t change, there’s no need to—”
“…No.”
The hesitant Lapis quietly shook her head.
“The reason the City Council finished its deliberations regarding my visit isn’t just because of the non-aggression pact.”
“Then?”
“…”
Lapis answered.
“They asked me to see the fate of one of their senators with my power.”
“…See a fate?”
Screeech!!
Lennok stopped the vehicle in a secluded back alley, took out a small timer, attached it to the steering wheel, and got out.
After Lapis and Patisha followed him out, he activated the timer and immediately closed the car door.
Vrooom!
Despite being empty, the armored vehicle moved on its own, disappearing down the other end of the alley.
Lennok watched the vehicle disappear into the distance before turning his gaze.
“It’ll cruise the nearby area until the time is up, drawing attention. Most of the guys who were chasing the armored vehicle should be thrown off.”
“I, I see. To think even that kind of armored vehicle has autonomous driving technology…”
“We’ll proceed on foot from here. I’ve secured a place to stay. It’s less than five minutes away.”
Lennok pulled up his hood and looked down at Lapis.
“I’ll hear about seeing fate with a Lighthouse Keeper’s power there.”