Chapter 949: Prohibition Edict (4)
Click.
Steaming coffee was placed on the spacious wooden table.
The sounds of footsteps on the plush carpet gradually quieted, then stopped altogether.
A late morning, after a long night, when vitality returned. Faint voices of people drifted in from outside.
District 49. Adamant Thunder’s Magic Tower. In the top-floor private office, lazy sunlight poured through the slightly open window.
Lennok was busily moving around the office, taking various measures for the tasks at hand.
All entrances and ventilation shafts around the corridor and near the office had long been magically secured.
There was a possibility that things would get troublesome once Armas von Anathema’s defection at the summit became known across Vulcan.
He needed to hurry a little to smoothly conclude the deal he had discussed with Olivera.
Lennok, rummaging through a safe long neglected in a desk drawer, couldn’t bear the silence and subtly shifted his gaze.
“If you need anything else—”
“It’s fine,” Jenny said, her arms crossed.
“It’ll be over quickly anyway.”
“……”
Jenny and Peshia sat facing each other across the table.
Jenny, expressionless, sipped her coffee, while Peshia sat with her head bowed, her arms bound by chains.
Though Lennok had intended this setup, seeing it laid out, it felt quite surreal.
Deadrise’s General, Peshia Grisbern.
A superhuman who fought alongside Kaiser during the civil war, and now a high-ranking spear user serving in Ethan’s legion.
And Jenicia Bajour, Kaiser Bajour’s granddaughter and Ethan Bajour’s only blood relative.
Now that Peshia was in his custody, Lennok had arranged for the two to meet before he met Olivera.
‘There won’t be another moment as safe as this to confront the Ghost Demoness.’
With Peshia’s hierarchy shattered and all her energy depleted from the battle with Armas von Anathema.
Even if she were to reveal murderous intent towards Jenny, absolute safety could be guaranteed.
The PMC Deadrise, which had betrayed Kaiser and gone independent.
From their reign as one of the three core leaders in Vulcan’s underworld to their expansion into the Central Front, growing their power.
Aside from the loyalty the legionnaires devoted to their Marshal, why had they left Jenny, a descendant of the Bajour bloodline, untouched until now?
And what did they think of Jenny’s existence? Now was the time to find out.
“……”
However, what Lennok valued most was not Peshia’s reaction, but Jenny’s.
Jenny’s attitude, aware of her birth and guessing the truth, yet feigning ignorance.
Though she pretended not to care, Lennok surmised that it was a reaction only possible because Jenny herself knew the truth.
Dealing with Deadrise associates was too dangerous, so until now, he hadn’t even thought of bringing them to Jenny, being too busy killing them all.
But with Peshia’s magic completely exhausted, within the Magic Tower’s territory, Lennok could manipulate every situation as he pleased.
“……”
Yet, neither Jenny nor Peshia seemed inclined to speak first, despite being aware of each other’s presence.
Jenny, eyes closed as if pondering the current situation, and Peshia, steadily gazing at Jenny’s face.
Ironically, Peshia’s reaction seemed to Lennok as if she were gauging Jenny’s mood.
Clink. Jenny set down her coffee cup, breaking the silence.
“He’s a nuisance.”
Jenny, arms crossed, tilted her head towards where Lennok stood, a disgruntled look on her face.
“He created this situation himself, yet he’s pretending it wasn’t his intention.”
“……”
“If you’re going to pretend, at least make an effort, but what’s with openly watching from the office without even leaving?”
Jenny’s casual demeanor, as if she had known Peshia for a long time.
But Peshia did not easily answer her words.
“You must have been put through the wringer by Van too.”
Jenny said, as if understanding Peshia.
“He’s the type who enjoys orchestrating situations exactly as he wants them. And considering what you did, you must have suffered even more.”
“Van, you say.”
At that moment, Peshia opened her mouth.
With transparent eyes devoid of emotion, she stared at Jenny so intently it felt burdensome.
“You seem to know Adamant Thunder well.”
“……”
Unlike when she first called Jenny ‘Lady Bajour,’ her tone was surprisingly neutral.
A subtle reaction, so much so that even Lennok, observing, couldn’t read Peshia’s thoughts for a moment.
It was as if she purely wanted to know what Jenny was thinking.
“……I know as much as I need to know. And I think I should know.”
Jenny, though showing discomfort at Peshia’s reaction, replied.
“Now we’re not just a broker and a freelancer. From the perspective of running an organization like the Tower… there are things we have to do, even if it’s uncomfortable for both of us, aren’t there?”
“Is that so.”
“Making time to sit here with you is part of that.”
Jenny’s gaze, fixed on Peshia, glinted coldly.
“Most of what Van does has a reason. And if it were truly dangerous or unpleasant, he wouldn’t have even mentioned it to me.”
“……”
“This situation itself was created because he thought it was something we could handle. Isn’t that true for you too?”
Jenny asked with a cold smile.
“Haven’t you too become someone Van can handle… at any time?”
Jenny’s direct question, implying that Peshia was not here of her own free will.
It was almost a provocation, directly pointing out her predicament and defeat.
The usual Peshia would have burst into a furious rage and showered her with curses upon hearing such words.
But Peshia, listening to Jenny’s words, said nothing.
About her defeat, which she had long ruminated over, raged about, and constantly denied.
As if acknowledging that fact, she simply nodded slowly.
“……He is an outstanding wizard.”
Peshia said quietly.
“Despite such power, he is rational, personable, and knows how to interact with others.”
“……”
An answer so quiet and composed, it was unbelievable coming from the Peshia Lennok had known until now.
But even more surprising was the fact that words of praise for Lennok were coming from Peshia’s lips.
Even though she couldn’t possibly be unaware that Lennok was listening, Peshia spoke to Jenny so casually.
“Of all the wizards I’ve seen, he possesses the most blessed talent.”
Peshia gazed at Jenny with serene eyes.
“So, stay by his side. Adamant Thunder will always be able to protect you.”
“……”
Was Jenny likewise surprised to hear such words from Peshia?
“I’ve investigated your past actions. Under the name Ghost Demoness, you’ve killed many innocents.”
Jenny, tapping the table with a troubled expression, said.
“Peshia Lermonic Grisbern. War orphan, born in Kabahim. Settled in Vulcan after wandering through various mercenary groups. Gained renown operating in the Central District, mostly in battles that caused dozens to hundreds of casualties.”
“……”
“During your time in Deadrise, you took on disciples, but neglected them all. You achieved countless military merits in the civil war but were defeated in an engagement with Antares. Fled after the project’s failure. Even rumors that you became a Level 8 killer on the Central Front…”
Jenny’s gaze, fixed on the silent Peshia, grew cold.
“Why are you, of all people, pretending to worry about me now? What are you thinking?”
“Well… what could I be thinking?”
Peshia smiled quietly.
Instead of being offended by Jenny’s words, she looked as if she felt a long-lost longing.
“I’ve always lived as I pleased. I’ve never sought a particular reason. It’s the same now. Speaking these words in front of you…”
In the quiet silence, Peshia murmured.
“Perhaps it’s because you resemble Lady Bajour more than I expected.”
“……”
Peshia’s answer, as if her madness and bloodlust had been miraculously washed away.
Because of that, instead of understanding the fact, Lennok grew curious.
How exactly had Kaiser and Ethan treated Peshia for her to become so docile just by resembling them?
If there was a secret to their management of people, perhaps Lennok should learn a thing or two from them.
“Yet you, who say that, have never actually seen me.”
Jenny silently raised her coffee cup.
Her hand, bringing the cup to her lips, trembled faintly.
“I… I know. I never had a father. Only a mother.”
“……”
“He never once came to see me in my life. All I remember is that he tried to kill me because of my name—”
“No. Lord Ethan would never have forgotten you,” Peshia said.
“He remembered your name.”
“……”
“Whenever he had time, he would ponder the medicine to send you. Saying that, like his late father, you inherited a bloodline that couldn’t be healthy, so prevention was necessary—”
“Don’t lie!” Jenny couldn’t hold back and screamed.
Crash!
When she slammed the coffee cup down, the handle shattered and hot coffee spilled out.
Perhaps the burning pain on the back of her hand instead cooled her emotions.
Jenny, staring blankly at it, spoke quietly.
“I couldn’t even set up my mother’s tombstone because of the assassins who kept coming.”
“……”
“If it weren’t for Jordan, I would be next to my mother. I know that being able to work as a broker was also because of a deal Jordan made.”
Jenny closed her eyes and murmured.
“I thought it wouldn’t be strange to die at any moment. I thought every moment was unrelated to my abilities or will. But, despite that, I lived on… because I thought I had to know.”
In a silence so profound it deafened, Jenny slowly opened her eyes and asked.
“What is Deadrise’s true objective?”
“……”
Even while confronting a past beyond her control, and swayed by emotion, she did not lose her judgment.
Knowing that this moment, facing Peshia, was orchestrated solely for her.
Rather, precisely because of that, she recognized there were words she needed to hear from her.
“Ethan, Bajour… Where is he now?”
Peshia, who had been looking with pity at Jenny, hesitating even to utter his name, subtly shifted her gaze.
Her eyes met Lennok’s, who was watching them from afar, and then she let out a hollow laugh.
As if she had only just now understood what she was supposed to do at this moment.
And as if, knowing that, she still decided to move according to Lennok’s intentions.
“Lord Kaiser changed little by little with each failure of the project,” Peshia answered quietly.
“Everyone knew he wasn’t the same as he was at first. But the reason we stayed with him until the end was…”
Her transparent gaze settled on Jenny’s face.
“Because everyone understood the true nature of the project.”
“……”
“Lord Ethan passed away before the project concluded, but what he sought to achieve through his death was—”
Snap!!
The sound of a tightly bound cord suddenly snapping.
Immediately after, black blood streamed from Peshia’s nose.
Jenny’s expression changed completely, realizing that it was a sound echoing from within Peshia’s head.
“Wait, you…!!”
Just mentioning the project, she had failed to escape the influence of the Prohibition Edict.
Crackling, sizzling…!!!
As black currents seeped from Peshia’s eyes and nose, her face turned deathly pale, and her body trembled violently.
“Ugh… cough!!”
A violent seizure, worse than any she had shown even during her life-or-death struggle with Armas von Anathema.
Yet, even amidst it, Peshia’s lips trembled, and she strenuously forced out words.
As if she had known this would happen from the start, she stammered, trying to finish what she had begun.
“Ba, Ba…”
“Stop. Do you want to die?!!”
The first warning. There would be no second chance.
The cost of violating the Prohibition Edict was a backlash that even Ascendants could not escape.
It would sever metabolism and continuity of thought, making them unable to perform any vital functions ever again.
She would die like this.
But Peshia did not stop, even seeing Jenny leap to her feet.
With a hazy expression as Jenny rapidly approached, her face filled with longing as if recalling old memories.
“It was to sever the Heaven-Defying Talent, which ran in the Bajour bloodline, with his generation.”
She closed her eyes and whispered.
“The Black Consumer Project was such a miracle.”
Crack!!
No time was given to react.
Before Jenny could scream, before Lennok could step forward.
Peshia sprayed blood and fell backward as if flung away.