Chapter 972: The Prohibition (27)
A dark sea existing beyond the stars.
Gods swimming through chaotic space-time, dreaming infinite dreams.
Lennok realized that the giant knight he encountered in the Ice Crystal Tablet was a being akin to them.
But precisely because of that, he also realized that this knight was not a living Outer God.
To the doom that swims the Outer Sea, humans on land are but mere insects.
Only a madman of the Pontiff’s caliber could be loved by them and speak their will on Earth.
Lennok knew that if the opponent were a true Outer God, the current situation would not have unfolded like this.
“It’s a dream abandoned after a god died.”
The knight replied.
“A dream dreamt by a god who explored and transgressed his true nature and desires to their limits. A lingering attachment he left behind as he vanished.”
Through the visor of the helmet, a fireball-like gleam in his eyes flickered slowly.
“That is me.”
“A dream… after an Outer God died…”
Lennok murmured with difficulty, as if unable to believe it.
Not only was the notion of Outer Sea gods dying hard to accept, but also that their remnants would persist as a consciousness space.
Furthermore, wasn’t it strange that such a sanctuary was intertwined with the Kabahim royal family?
Thinking that far, Lennok raised his gaze towards the knight.
“Surely, you’re maintaining this sanctuary through a pact with the royal family?”
“……”
“That must be why you bestowed blessings upon the royal lineage. The bloodline abilities passed down through their blood were traces of a dead Outer God.”
No blessing could be received without preparing for a curse.
Soryu’s words while fighting Peshia were a miracle founded upon such a contradiction.
“Then, the [Gate] said to exist beneath the royal capital…”
…is it a passage leading to a [Sanctuary] built upon the power of a dead Outer God?
The knight said nothing, but Lennok’s conjecture rapidly expanded, drawing upon all the information he had heard about the Kabahim dynasty.
The knight, silently looking down at Lennok, opened his mouth.
“You await the next, with an intuition that transcends common sense, and dream beyond the conclusion.”
“……”
“Navigating the dark sea with a speck of a trace as your compass, why would you need assistance? Another’s sentiments are nothing but impurities on that journey.”
Rumble!!
The knight slowly turned his helmet and spoke.
“There is no reason to add further commentary on the royal pact. It is enough that you are aware such a thing transpired.”
“A pact…”
“That you were able to find this place was possible because you simultaneously possessed a sacred artifact capable of concealing the sanctuary’s existence.”
The knight’s gaze turned to the pure white bracelet on Lennok’s wrist.
The Precept of Virtuous Guidance. A veil possessing the power to accumulate good deeds and protect the soul.
Did the sacred artifact handed to Lennok by the Second Apostle enable his entry into the sanctuary, hidden from the Outer Gods’ eyes?
“While it cannot be called a lawful procedure according to the pact, the outcome itself will be a trace symbolizing your existence.”
“……”
Screech!!
The knight raised one hand, resting it on the ice stele behind him, and his entire being vibrated with a tingling resonance.
“Therefore, this moment shall be engraved with the Ice Seal, becoming an imprint that proves your title.”
Title, he said.
Was the ring named ‘Ice Seal’ because it was literally the royal seal and relic?
They probably used those who received the Blessing of the Snow-White Robe as the foundation of the dynasty, enforcing their rules through power and title.
Only then did Lennok understand why Kabahim maintained a monarchy on this continent.
If they had made a pact with the dream of a dead Outer God and etched its power into their bloodline, they wouldn’t have been able to control that power without strict rules.
Flash!!
The moment an ice-light burst forth onto the consciousness space, swirling across the entire sky.
The vast snowy landscape split apart, and ice-light poured down over Lennok’s body.
“You are…”
…bypassing the procedure of engraving a name onto the Ice Crystal Tablet and bestowing a blessing directly.
A surprisingly rational and cooperative attitude for a being claiming to be the dream of a dead Outer God.
If he hadn’t maintained a favorable stance towards humans from the start, he wouldn’t have entered a pact with the Kabahim royal family in the first place.
But the ice knight, gripping his sword, merely bowed his head without a word.
As if even maintaining this moment for long was too burdensome for him.
“Eyes flow, rivers fade, and light freezes; this symbolizes the mood of a world brought to a halt.”
The knight whispered.
“All I can do is grant you the qualification to approach the [Gate].”
“……”
“I will wait beyond the True Divine Sanctuary.”
Flash!!
The entire consciousness space distorted as if blurring, and an explosive chill burst forth around Lennok’s body.
As Lennok landed on the training room floor, a fierce cold swept in from all directions, and the door burst open, with Felix rushing out.
“Van!!”
“……”
Peshia, following behind, looked at Lennok, scratched her cheek, and asked,
“What, you already failed?”
Peshia’s question, which naturally assumed failure.
She snorted as if she had expected it and got up from her seat.
“It can’t be helped that a bookish wizard who emphasizes theory is still inferior to practical experience. Hand it over.”
Peshia extended her hand to Lennok with a grin.
“The sensory type, whom you dismissed as stupid, will test the ring’s abilities instead.”
Thump!
Instead of answering, Lennok gripped Peshia’s hand as if in a handshake, and her expression immediately soured.
“No, why is your hand so cold…”
CRACK!
The moment the Ice Seal on his index finger radiated light, Peshia’s body froze solid, turning pure white.
Peshia stood there, completely encased in white frost.
Felix, clutching the poisonous toad in both arms, spun his head around in horror.
“V-Van?!”
“You son of a biiiitch!!!”
CRUNCH!!
At that moment, Peshia, who had shattered the frost on her body and burst out, roared,
“What the hell was that, you bastard!!!”
“I didn’t expect much, but the power is better than I thought.”
Lennok said, caressing the ring with his other hand.
“If it can break through a superhuman’s spellcraft resistance and forcibly induce a status effect, it might be useful.”
“No, what the hell are you talking about…!!!”
Peshia was about to explode in anger, but belatedly understood Lennok’s words and blinked.
“…What, you’ve already received that blessing or whatever and came back?”
“The immediate noticeable effects are increasing the circulation speed of mana within the body and reducing the warm-up time for spellcraft.”
Lennok replied, clenching and unclenching his left hand, checking his condition.
“Since it’s a blessing and not a spell or magic infusion, its effect on the body isn’t direct.”
“……”
“My body temperature seems to have dropped a bit, but it’s usable. It’s a more useful ability than I expected.”
He was used to spellcraft, curses, and magic, but this was practically his first time receiving a blessing.
A blessing, after all, was power received based on the strength or grace of others, not Lennok himself.
That’s why, while generally enhancing Lennok’s abilities, it didn’t stimulate mana addiction.
In the past, he would have hesitated to receive such a blessing, but with various protective measures in place now, there was no reason to hold back.
“Actually, the most useful would be the particle-forming ability the prince used… but that would be impossible without a bloodline ability.”
The [Gate] located beneath the Kabahim royal capital, and the sanctuary of the Ice Crystal Tablet. The existence of the knight sleeping within that sanctuary.
It was clear there were more secrets related to the dead Outer God there, but for now, it was difficult to focus on.
Without participating in Hylaea’s operation and moving with Pandemonium, uncovering the truth would be impossible.
Lennok thought so and turned his gaze.
“I’ll look into the blessing further and explain it to you later. Was there any progress on extracting mana?”
“…Your prediction that extracting resentment from Dorye’s mana would increase its purity was correct.”
He had momentarily forgotten about it due to the Ice Seal, but Felix and Peshia’s task wasn’t that.
Felix, belatedly regaining his composure, held out the test tube containing reddish mana and said,
“The bodily enhancement effect was stronger than expected. The resentment consumed by the Curse-Eating Ghoul was indeed suppressing the effect.”
“Enhancement effect?”
Within the test tube, it swirled and pulsed like a transparent reddish gem, a mysterious sight.
Is this what Dorye’s mana looks like after being purified through the Curse-Eating Ghoul?
“Hey, birdbrain. Don’t be like that, just give me one.”
Peshia casually extended her hand towards Felix.
“It’ll be much faster to show you directly than to tell you.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
At Peshia’s gesture, Felix unhesitatingly tossed her a test tube.
As Lennok tilted his head, surprised by the apparent good rapport between the two, Peshia uncorked the test tube and guzzled its contents.
The moment Peshia consumed the reddish mana and threw her head back with a sharp exhale.
“Huu…!!”
WHOOSH!
A reddish light swirled over her skin, and her presence began to explosively expand.
Peshia leaned forward, hands on her knees, slowly stretching her waist.
Crack, crackle…!!
Her body twitched and pulsed, as if ready to spring forth at any moment, following her movements.
A powerful vitality and vigor, incomparably clearer than before she consumed the mana.
As Lennok watched with interest, Peshia slowly tilted her head and said,
“Compared to your enhancement magic, the output is a little lower, but the stability is incomparably higher.”
“……”
“This is the effect just from extracting and consuming the mana. If injected directly into a vein or attached as a patch, the efficiency would be even higher.”
Did this mean that the doping efficiency of Dorye’s mana was so high that it had to be compared to the Residual Thunder Body Lennok had cast during the battle with Anathema?
With reddish eyes, Peshia’s gaze sharpened.
“This is useful. It will definitely make money.”
“……”
“Lock the birdbrain in the training room and just throw him feed to make him extract mana. Three bottles a day, but if we sell them with a premium, it’ll definitely be a big business—”
“No. This won’t be commercialized.”
Lennok said, capping the test tube in his hand.
“We aren’t here to do business. You’re mistaken.”
“What?! Are you crazy?!!”
Peshia shrieked, jumping up and down, her kicks cracking the training room floor and making it tremble.
Unable to control her overflowing physical abilities, Peshia swung her arms around and said,
“If we just sell this to the Central Council, we could get tens of millions of cells per bottle. You’re just going to give up this money? You must be swimming in cash!!”
“Do I look like I’m hurting for money?”
“……”
At Lennok’s calm retort, Peshia was momentarily speechless.
Even though she was unaware of Vulcan’s exact situation, she knew what position Lennok held in this city.
“The purpose of this work isn’t to sell Dorye’s mana.”
Lennok said, placing the test tube back on the shelf.
“It’s to reduce the side effects accompanying mana usage and to make it easier to learn how to handle mana.”
“……”
“Felix. How many mana bottles can you produce without straining your body?”
“One bottle… no, I could somehow manage two…”
“Let’s stick to one.”
Lennok, with a deadpan expression, immediately made the decision.
Considering Felix’s personality, his initial answer was probably the minimum limit that wouldn’t strain his body.
“Every two days, call Peshia in to drink the purified Dorye’s mana and train. So she can learn how to handle mana.”
“Hmph, wizard. Are you sure about this?”
CRUNCH!
Peshia lightly crushed a dumbbell with one foot, a sharp smile on her face.
“I might master Dorye’s mana before the birdbrain does, and then kill him.”
“……”
“Look closely. I can’t even control my strength right now.”
The leg strength that flattened an alloy dumbbell, used for superhuman training, with just a light press.
This was proof that Peshia’s physical abilities, after consuming Dorye’s mana, had recovered significantly compared to her prime.
But Lennok merely offered a gentle smile at Peshia’s menacing words.
“If you can’t control your strength after drinking Dorye’s mana, tell me. I’ll give you a beating before you start training.”
“What?”
Peshia’s expression crumpled terribly.
Lennok looked at her face and leisurely said,
“If I beat you into shape until you’re almost dead, won’t you automatically learn to control your strength?”
“……”
Peshia’s shoulders trembled at Lennok’s words, which sounded as if he didn’t even consider her an opponent.
But even as she glared at Lennok as if to kill him, Peshia ultimately did not attack.
Felix watched her, an incredulous expression on his face, and shook his head.
“You really are…”
“If there are no further complaints, continue to follow the action plan I’ve set for the time being.”
Lennok said, turning to leave.
“Mana extraction once a day. Sparring every two days. Even when I’m not here, focus on repetitive training and extraction to master the feel of it.”
“Van, are you planning to be away?”
“I think I need to research Anathema’s power.”
Lennok took out his phone from his pocket and said,
“I plan to visit the Tower for teaching Obaekro and for your training, but I can’t guarantee the schedule.”
“Obaekro? You’re teaching Obaekro?”
At Felix’s bewildered reply, Peshia said as if remembering something,
“Ah… that headache-inducing board game.”
“Do you know how to play?”
“Lord Kaiser Bajour taught me whenever he had time.”
Peshia replied confidently.
“Of course, I’ve forgotten all of it now.”
“……”
“You call that something to boast about…”
“What! My head just aches whenever I sit down in front of the board, what do you want me to do?!”
At Felix’s soft remark, Peshia immediately flared up and shouted.
“I’ll explain why I’m teaching Obaekro later. Anyway, don’t forget the schedule I set for you.”
Lennok checked a message, then immediately verified the address within it, before looking at Peshia.
“Ghost Demoness, same goes for you. You know I’m giving you an opportunity, even if you don’t try any tricks, right?”
“…Tch.”
“You’d better do it properly.”
Lennok’s eyes gleamed ominously as he stared at Peshia, who merely pouted without replying.
“If you’re so foolish you can’t understand my words, then I’ll truly have to dispose of you.”
The process of consuming Dorye’s mana with Felix, learning how to handle it, and enhancing her physical abilities was akin to rehabilitation for Peshia, whose hierarchy had been broken.
Although it was to help with training, it was undeniable that Lennok was tacitly allowing Peshia to regain her strength in his own backyard.
Peshia herself was not unaware of this.
“Of course, I don’t intend to just leave your training unsupervised without any safety measures.”
Lennok nodded, leaving Peshia, who merely pouted, without a response.
“I called someone to help. Someone will come to the Tower in a few days to supervise your training.”
“Supervise?”
“I found someone who’s good at both Obaekro and sparring, you see.”
At Lennok’s reply, Peshia’s expression crumpled terribly this time.
“Oh, for f*ck’s sake, that senile old man already…”
“…?”
“He’ll introduce himself, so please guide him to the training room.”
Seeing Felix tilting his head in confusion, Lennok chuckled and left the training room.
He stepped onto the ramp leading out of the Magic Tower and turned his gaze to his phone screen.
A short, yet long, momentary break.
But even as he handled the postponed research and training and planned his schedule, one crucial task remained.
The ‘deal’ Lennok had been most concerned about since the meeting of the 8-level Transcendent superhumans concluded.
Lennok’s expression, upon checking the message from an unknown sender, had grown calm.
“I have made a decision regarding Anathema’s matter. I will accompany you.”
“……”
“Come see me when you’re ready. There’s much to prepare before heading to Kundara.”
Finally, a reply had arrived from the Cartel’s Chairman, who had gone into hiding immediately after the meeting.
The city of Long-lived Beings who escaped destruction.
The hideout of the monsters who designed the Central Front’s barrier.
The time had come to go to the Outer Tribulation City, Kundara.