Chapter 925: The Summit (8)
Lennok appeared in the ceremony hall and immediately unfurled a magical formation, standing above the others’ heads.
Attendees of the summit frowned, looking at the magical formation shimmering behind Lennok.
“Wait, why does that wizard have the Eight Trigrams Formation?”
“Has one of the eight positions already been taken? This is troublesome.”
“Of all people, did it have to fall to him?”
[……]
“Adamant Thunder. Setting the closing time of the Siege Barrier to midnight wasn’t for convenience.”
Olinic shook his head, and the enormous sphere floating in the air looked up at Lennok as it spoke.
Had he already arrived at the ceremony hall after being overtaken by the Thunder Bird?
“It was a meticulously planned measure, finely adjusting the time for the Siege Barrier’s efficiency and power to reach their peak through the geomantic array method.”
The black wizard spoke to Lennok in a feigned tone of concern.
“Because you delayed the Siege Barrier’s time, its power and efficiency have decreased by approximately 24%. How do you intend to take responsibility for this?”
“It seems you should ask them, not me.”
Lennok retorted, turning his gaze toward Habaek, the blind man standing far away.
“If the head of Sihyegeomjong hadn’t unnecessarily picked a fight, I wouldn’t have been delayed by a black wizard who wields messy demonic arts.”
“……”
[Hmph.]
As others chuckled or clucked their tongues at Lennok’s reply, which simultaneously provoked two ultra-powerful ability users with a single statement, a cheerful voice came from behind him.
“What an interesting fellow. Picking a fight before the summit even begins?”
It was a woman wearing a thick, metallic helmet, like a motorcycle helmet.
Clad in a short leather jacket, she exuded an intense vitality, like a wild animal.
Her casual nod as she turned to look at Lennok with her arms crossed seemed genuinely amused.
“They don’t call you a blood-crazed wizard in reality for nothing. You’re even wilder than the rumors suggested.”
“Rage.”
At that moment, the black-haired man, who had been standing at the center of the altar with his arms crossed and eyes closed, spoke.
The moment he opened his eyes, a vivid red glow emanated from them. His crimson eyes flashing, Slain spoke.
“If the rumors are true, there’s no reason to provoke him. Our priority here is to expound on the contents of the summit.”
“But this person doesn’t seem to intend to fight right away, either?”
The helmeted woman, called Rage, waved her hand and retorted.
“At least by attending the summit without killing anyone, there’s a minimum will to cooperate, isn’t there?”
“……”
The red-eyed man ignored her words and closed his eyes again.
He seemed unwilling to even respond to Rage’s comment.
Lennok left their conversation behind and surveyed the ceremony hall.
Familiar and unfamiliar faces were scattered sparsely throughout the massive hall.
Olinic, the head of Gisusingung, also known as Cheoknoe.
The baby black wizard he encountered on the way, and Habaek, the blind man of Sihyegeomjong.
Rage, with her helmet, and the red-eyed man.
Including the cold-faced silver-haired woman and others who had yet to step forward, the number of people gathered here was around ten.
Having assessed this, Lennok immediately spoke.
“The number of people is excessively high.”
“What?”
“Even with the influence of the Prohibition Edict, it doesn’t seem likely that such a number of Level 8s would have been in hiding across the entire mega-city. Are there people here from places other than Vulcan?”
As Lennok spoke, he slowly began to draw up his magic.
Kugugung……!!!
With just a thought to lightly pull on his magic, the demon-shaped stone statue Lennok stood on began to move its two arms, bringing them together in a prayer-like gesture.
A bizarre sight, as if the demon statue was forming the hand seals for Lennok’s incantation on his behalf.
“……!!”
Noticing the handful of superhumans whose expressions hardened upon seeing this, Lennok spoke.
“If superhumans who are not affiliated with Vulcan have intruded on the summit, shouldn’t we filter them out here and now?”
“Not all ultra-powerful ability users bound by the Edict remained in Vulcan.”
The silver-haired woman with an icy demeanor spoke.
Her gaze, which was beyond expressionless to the point of being ruthless, turned to fix on Lennok.
“The Edict’s restrictions applied only within the mega-city. There are those who left the city after the civil war and made their nests elsewhere.”
“So?”
“Choosing the satellite city as a new venue was precisely to invite even those individuals to the summit.”
The woman said with a cold gaze.
“Despite taking such measures, at least five candidates failed to attend, so it cannot be called a wrong judgment.”
“……”
So that’s how many decided to attend the summit but didn’t even show their faces.
Even more surprising was that neither the silver-haired woman who stated this nor anyone else present particularly refuted or questioned the fact.
Lennok knew there had been a massive war during the civil war when Kaiser was alive, but its scale seemed to have been far greater than he had imagined.
“After all, isn’t the proxy for Olivera you brought, strictly speaking, also a superhuman not affiliated with Vulcan?”
Her cold gaze shifted behind Lennok.
“Deadrise is Kaiser Bajour’s warlord faction that abandoned Vulcan and moved to the Central Front. You can’t claim that the general of that warlord faction, Peshia, is now affiliated with Vulcan.”
“Don’t make me laugh, Kiriya Yubertz.”
Peshia scoffed as if she had been waiting for this.
“I have far more affection for this city than a knight who only spouts pride with her mouth.”
“Your habit hasn’t changed, Grisbern.”
The woman called Kiriya stared at Peshia with an expressionless face.
“I’m curious if your skills are still the same as when you were defeated by Antares.”
“……I’m certainly not worse than a knight commander abandoned by Kabahim. Shall we test it right now if you wish?”
[Stop, stop.]
Olinic raised his hand, seeing Peshia pick up her spear and walk toward the stone statue.
Charrrleuk!!
As the metallic sphere rotated, parts of the altar’s metal rose up, blocking Peshia’s path.
[Kiriya is not wrong, Adamant Thunder. The situation is too complicated to make an issue of it, to the point where it’s impossible to even distinguish.]
“……”
[After all, who among us truly believes they are bound to this city? Or rather, do you truly believe yourself to be ‘affiliated’ with Vulcan?]
“An interesting question, Cheoknoe.”
Lennok sneered.
“At least when it comes to trying to obscure the essence of the problem. Are you trying to play word games with me now?”
[……]
Lennok’s brutally sharp reply.
He could feel the others watching the situation slowly begin to raise their will-thought.
Sharak……!
From afar, Habaek adjusted his grip on his sword sheath, and the red-eyed man slowly uncrossed his arms.
Rage shrugged, lifting a hand as if to undo the chinstrap of her helmet, and the other superhumans, who hadn’t even introduced themselves yet, reluctantly began to move.
The situation around Lennok was on the verge of exploding, a hair-trigger moment.
But Lennok, without bothering to check each person surrounding him, raised his hand.
“Well, fine.”
Paat!!
The Eight Trigrams Formation faintly glowed and slowly rotated above Lennok’s head.
Seeing the other superhumans flinch, Lennok slowly withdrew his magic.
“Since I’ve obtained the formation, there’s no need to spoil things first. I’ll hear what you intend to ramble about at the summit.”
“……”
“First of all, where is Armas von Anathema, the supposed instigator of this summit? Has the distinguished noble not arrived at the venue yet?”
Each individual gathered at the summit was a monster possessing extraordinary aura, yet Lennok instinctively knew that Anathema was not present.
The necromancer, Olivera, and Claris had mentioned and warned about Anathema but said nothing about his appearance.
This must be because Armas von Anathema was such a unique and distinct being that one could confirm his identity just by encountering him.
However, while there were several grotesque or unusual beings here, none of them inspired such certainty in Lennok.
“I am about to explain that matter now.”
Slain, the red-eyed man, seemed to agree with that, uncrossing his arms and standing before the altar.
“As some of you know, Anathema is a noble exiled from Ars Nova. His very name is a testament to an oath and a knot of fate.”
“……”
“However, being exiled from Ars Nova does not merely mean physical banishment.”
Slain, looking down at the entire ceremony hall from atop the altar, continued.
“Because an exile decreed by Ars Nova signifies a spiritual banishment encompassing both body and soul, a sentence closer to an ontological deprivation, if you will.”
“Ontological deprivation?”
“It is a punishment that rejects and expels the body, soul, and very existence of all who bear the name of Anathema from this world.”
Slain spoke, looking at some of the bewildered attendees.
“Therefore, the physical body of Armas von Anathema does not exist in reality. We must, therefore, summon his body into this world through a specific ritual.”
“……”
“The Post-Heaven Eight Trigrams Formation deployed in Etanoc is a preparatory work for Anathema’s manifestation, a process of sharing Anathema’s eight innate abilities and assisting his manifestation.”
Slain’s smooth explanation was not difficult to understand, but no one spoke first.
Perhaps they were all inwardly reflecting on the meaning of his explanation for the summit.
But as soon as Lennok heard Slain’s explanation, something clicked for him.
‘The Director’s manifestation in Vulcan wasn’t a coincidence after all.’
He hadn’t understood why the Director chose Vulcan’s ceremony hall to manifest, but it was because this specific hall was prepared for Anathema’s manifestation.
Rather than a mere coincidence in timing with the Director’s manifestation, it was clear that the Director had been aware of the situation and acted accordingly from the beginning.
In that case, wouldn’t the Director’s objective likely be the summit itself, rather than other cities or districts of Vulcan?
As Lennok was lost in thought, Slain’s words continued.
“Those who directly participate in the ritual with the formation will each receive one of Anathema’s innate abilities. More precisely, it’s a process of stimulating and awakening the spirituality that uses these abilities, a form of compensation prepared by Anathema.”
Slain said, glancing down at Lennok.
“Excluding the four participants who previously assisted in constructing the Post-Heaven Eight Trigrams Formation, we intended to determine the distribution of the remaining abilities at the summit. But to think someone would acquire a formation privately beforehand… things have gotten complicated.”
“……”
At Slain’s words, the gazes of the other attendees naturally turned to Lennok.
They all knew whom he was referring to.
But Lennok was thinking about the facts he learned from Slain’s explanation, more than the sharp gazes directed at him.
According to Slain’s explanation, the recovery of will-thought through the Eight Trigrams Formation was not yet the effect of properly awakening an innate ability.
And it meant that one could acquire another new innate ability as a reward after Anathema’s manifestation was complete.
So, the effects like recovery of mental strength and will-thought, and increased vigor, were merely auxiliary abilities obtained simply by possessing the formation?
The others also seemed to show no small interest in the keyword, ‘Anathema’s innate ability.’
“Eight innate abilities possessed by a noble from Ars Nova… Just hearing that piques my interest.”
At that moment, an old man standing not far from Lennok opened his mouth.
Though his stature was small and his back hunched, the aura emanating from him was truly profound.
Given that he possessed such an aura despite not being a combat-oriented ranked ability user, the old man was certainly a being who had transcended rank.
“Could we perhaps be told in advance what kind of abilities exist?”
“That’s impossible, as which ability is granted will only be determined after the manifestation is complete.”
The red-eyed man shook his head.
“Since it’s said to be determined by one’s inherent aptitude and disposition, it’s certainly not something one can choose themselves.”
“I see. That’s a pity……”
“Among those attending the summit, there will surely be those more interested in this reward than in the discussion itself. I understand that.”
Slain nodded as he spoke.
“Therefore, before we begin the ritual, I will give you time to decide who will share the axes of the formation. I do not care what means you use to reach an agreement.”
“……”
Slain’s assertion that he would condone whatever means were used.
Only then did Lennok realize why the necromancer had concluded that a clash between superhumans at this summit was inevitable.
It was already astonishing that a noble from Ars Nova possessed eight types of innate abilities.
But if such innate abilities were given as a gift merely for summoning his body into reality, who wouldn’t covet them?
The moment this fact was announced, it was obvious that a fight would break out over the remaining formations.
Slain, the red-eyed man, must have judged from the start that an agreement without bloodshed was impossible, and thus explicitly stated he wouldn’t interfere.
“It doesn’t matter if you take it by force. That’s quite a dangerous statement.”
“Does that mean it doesn’t matter if the satellite city gets destroyed?”
Indeed, as soon as Slain finished his explanation, the atmosphere in the ceremony hall began to grow sharp.
Though they had gathered under the pretext of a summit, most of those present were monsters with absolute confidence in their own abilities.
What’s more, this was a uninhabited satellite city, far removed from Vulcan.
Perhaps this stage was set up from the beginning to instigate conflict and infighting, designed for them to run wild.
“Four assistants who have already obtained the formation. And one wizard who acquired it illicitly beforehand.”
Lennok felt the masked red-haired man grin at him.
“If you took the formation after getting into a dispute with Sihyegeomjong, you’re hardly in a position to complain if someone takes it from you.”
“This Eight Trigrams Formation. I heard its ownership can be forcibly transferred by killing the holder.”
Lennok pointed at the formation floating above his head and smiled.
“You’re welcome to challenge me anytime you wish. I’m just as curious about the skills of the old monsters who’ve been hiding under the Prohibition Edict.”
“……”
At Lennok’s blatant challenge, the other attendees gave cold smiles.
“This Siege Barrier. It’s designed to withstand internal shocks more than external attacks.”
“No matter how skilled you are in combat, don’t you think such confidence is out of place for a wizard in a confined space like this?”
“Considering the hearing, it should be normal for him to be struggling just to stand there right now.”
“Well.”
As Lennok spoke, the grotesque stone statues positioned around the ceremony hall simultaneously began to move.
Kugugugu……!!
Intense auras clashed as they rose from all directions at once, and attendees not intending to participate in combat naturally stepped back.
Amidst the statues that instantly converged in the center of the ceremony hall, Lennok smiled, leaning on his staff.
“Shall we test it out yourselves?”
“……!!”
A chilling will-thought, hot enough to explode, focused on a single wizard.
However, the atmosphere, which seemed ready to surge toward Lennok at any moment, was immediately drowned out by a presence that emerged from the back of the ceremony hall.
Whoosh!
A grand aura shook the ground. As he walked, a pure white robe and long white hair fluttered.
From the mouth of the man who landed on the clasped hands of the demon statue, a deep voice resonated.
“I can finally repay the debt from the sealed zone.”
It was a relaxed-looking, white-haired man with his hands behind his back. A long spear, emitting a pale light, floated behind him.
“If you intend to seize the special privilege granted to Mr. Van, you will all have to pass through me, one by one.”
“……Azlan?”
Lennok frowned at the familiar back and inadvertently murmured that name.
The Guileless, Krod Azlan, turned to Lennok and gave a benevolent smile.
“Krod Azlan, Protector of Turyeonmun. I will stand by your side in this summit.”