Chapter 999: The First Gateway (9)
“I had planned to refrain from activity for a while after taking charge of the First Gateway, but…”
The burning streets of the black market at night.
Flames fell like bombs, flickering across the ruined commercial district, the split and crumbled golden pyramid.
A young man stepped onto the tilted outer wall of the Hwacheongru, looking around with an indifferent expression.
“For some reason, I keep attracting gnats. It’s too noisy to work.”
“……”
“Tower Lord. What exactly happened?”
At the young man’s flat voice, Lennok, refining his magic, rose from his spot.
Green surgical scrubs and inorganic eyes. A chilling sense of uncanny presence, devoid of even a normal human aura.
Despite his human form, there was a strong sense of foreignness, as if he wasn’t of the same species.
This man was one of the four Grand Spell Masters under the Order Alliance, an 8-level trait-type spellcaster.
The Conjunction Spell Master, said to hold the most unique standing since the Alliance Leader.
‘Did Angel and Bernard retreat?’
Lennok scanned his surroundings, realizing the two presences were gone, and nodded. If they had evacuated the battlefield as he’d signaled just before the fight, that was fine. When plans went awry, it was best to quickly find their respective tasks.
“……Spell Master.”
Whoosh!!
With a flick of his hand, the Tower Lord unsummoned the staff he was holding and rose, his face etched with exhaustion. Even after the Conjunction Spell Master had forcibly canceled his Domain deployment, he seemed intent on somehow salvaging the situation.
“My apologies for the interruption. This was not my intention.”
“Not your intention, you say.”
The Conjunction Spell Master asked, putting on a glove, his face devoid of expression.
“Do you expect me to believe that, even after seeing the state of this black market?”
“That’s…”
“I don’t care about the commotion happening inside Gateway City. You can kill each other as you please.”
The Conjunction Spell Master turned his gaze to the Magic Tower Lord and spoke with a cold expression.
“However, only one thing. I clearly said that the use of a Domain was forbidden.”
“……”
“My Operating Theater is an extremely sensitive area; even the smallest activation of a Mind Imprint can affect it.”
The Conjunction Spell Master slowly tilted his head, his eyes glinting with an inorganic light.
“Tower Lord. If anyone, you should have known better.”
“……”
The encounter between the current administrator of the First Gateway and the former administrator.
But there was no need to ask which of the two held the upper hand.
The Magic Tower Lord avoided eye contact with the Conjunction Spell Master, while the Conjunction Spell Master openly glared at the Tower Lord.
‘This is strange…’
While there might be a power gap between the two spellcasters, even accounting for that, the Tower Lord’s attitude was unusually submissive.
Even if the Conjunction Spell Master possessed monstrous abilities, such deference from a spellcaster as proud as the Magic Tower Lord was hard to believe.
Had the Tower Lord, then, deeply acknowledged and empathized with the Conjunction Spell Master’s unrealistic capabilities, to the point of being so terrified?
No, if he were that afraid of the Conjunction Spell Master’s presence, there would have been no reason to risk deploying his Domain in the first place—
While Lennok was lost in thought, the Tower Lord quickly tidied his magic and spoke.
“……I can explain everything. I will handle this myself.”
“Ah, no need. I’ll hear your excuses later.”
The moment the Conjunction Spell Master waved his hand dismissively.
Sharp flesh erupted from beneath the Tower Lord’s feet, instantly piercing his back.
“Cough…!!”
Squish!!
With a sound like something being devoured, the Tower Lord’s expression twisted in agony.
The Conjunction Spell Master, approaching the Tower Lord who was impaled like a skewer on a Chimera, adjusted his mask and spoke.
“I’ve injected a sedative into your spinal cord, so you won’t be able to move for a while. Keep quiet.”
“……”
“I’m returning to my Operating Theater. Follow me.”
After instantly incapacitating the Tower Lord with the Chimera he had summoned, the Conjunction Spell Master intended to drag him directly into his Operating Theater.
Lennok watched, slowly wiggling his fingers.
‘I need to move. But…’
With the Conjunction Spell Master’s intrusion, the disruption of the situation was inevitable.
However, Lennok still had time to choose.
The Conjunction Spell Master seemed interested only in the Tower Lord for now, but it wouldn’t be strange if he turned his attention to Lennok at any moment.
With the Tower Lord down and the Conjunction Spell Master present, what was the best way to achieve his objective?
As Lennok thought, taking a step back from the Conjunction Spell Master.
“Ah, I see.”
The Conjunction Spell Master suddenly turned his gaze, as if Lennok had only just occurred to him.
“Evan Martinez. You were here too.”
“……”
The young man, staring intently at Lennok through his mask, rubbed his chin in thought.
“What to do? I don’t have much time…”
“I believe there’s still a day until our agreed time,” Lennok replied calmly.
“I will come to you when the time is right. I also have business remaining at the Gateway.”
“……”
“Or do you intend to leave the black market in its current state?”
Even after hearing Lennok’s indifferent retort, the Conjunction Spell Master showed no reaction.
He merely observed Lennok calmly, as if scrutinizing him.
How much time passed?
In that moment, the silence that had fallen over the black market grew so intense it hurt his ears.
“That’s right. I’ve decided.”
The Conjunction Spell Master, who had been staring for a long time, slowly nodded.
“It would be best to just take you to the Operating Theater as well.”
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
A colossal mass of flesh erupted from behind the Conjunction Spell Master, instantly devouring the entire black market street.
“UWAAHHHHHH!!!!”
A gigantic Chimera, its immense maw wide open, roaring and sucking everything on the ground into its throat.
Lennok and the Tower Lord, with no ground to stand on, fell as if being drawn into the Chimera’s gullet.
“……!!”
As the Chimera appeared in the middle of the black market, Lennok took a deep breath, about to channel his magic.
[That’s far enough, Conjunction Spell Master.]
A violet gravitational field exploded, sweeping across the entire black market.
WOOSH-AAANG!!!
The building debris and Lennok’s form, which the Chimera was swallowing, were forcibly lifted by an incredible feat.
A powerful, unnatural sensation, as if gravity had been strongly inverted.
“This power is…!!”
A form of gravity manipulation, familiar to Lennok, based on immense mental power. The ability of the monster he had encountered once in the Hanghasa Labyrinth. As Lennok realized its identity, he suddenly looked up.
[My comrades from the Demon Warband gave me a heads-up. I’m quite late.]
Cha-reureureuk!!!
Thick, purple chains descended from the night sky, and a powerful electrical resonance reverberated.
Dozens of corpses, suspended between the links of the chains, swayed aimlessly with the vibration.
A mature man, who had appeared and simultaneously covered the black market with his vast gravitational field, looked down at them.
[Evan Martinez. It’s been a while. You haven’t changed a bit since I saw you in the labyrinth.]
“Ballak O’Edon…!!!”
An 8-level gravity-type superhuman. The Sixth Seat of the Ability Awakening Warband.
Had the monster who had run wild in the Hanghasa Labyrinth, unable to control his own talent, begun to move in Gateway City?
Bernard and Angel, who had retreated from the black market, must have taken action.
As Lennok instinctively realized this and looked up at the sky with a surprised expression.
[Conjunction Spell Master. It is becoming difficult to continue condoning the atrocities you commit in Gateway City.]
Ballak’s booming voice reverberated harshly through the night sky.
[The entire continent knows what you are doing by establishing that horrific life Domain. Do you truly not fear being cursed by humanity?]
“Superhuman. My time is very expensive.”
The Conjunction Spell Master turned his indifferent gaze towards Ballak, who stood in the night sky.
“If you wish for a consultation, you should bring about 100 million cells per hour.”
[I can pay any amount of money. What use are mere material possessions to us?]
Ballak chuckled, stroking his chin.
[But your curiosity and research drive, which transcend ethics, seem impossible to stop, no matter the price.]
“That’s not something I wish to hear from an ability user who collects the corpses he’s killed as trophies.”
The Conjunction Spell Master, who had released the collar of the faintly trembling Tower Lord, turned his gaze.
The violet chains hanging in the gravitational field, and the corpses suspended by their necks between the chain links.
Rubbing his hands, the Conjunction Spell Master said,
“As I’ve told the Cult, all my research is fundamentally for the betterment of human life. It’s a process towards a permanent and utilitarian outcome, rather than simply my own curiosity.”
[Of course. What other reason would a deviant like you have for pledging loyalty to the Alliance Leader?]
Ballak slowly bent his body, riding the rotating gravitational field that covered the black market, and said,
[That’s how trait-type spellcasters are. Because they are flowers that bloom in twisted, rotten soil, they emit a scent more potent and intense than anything else… Even though you take human form, you are a being who can never truly blend with others.]
“……”
[Perhaps precisely because of that, you can treat even fellow superhumans as patients, capable of healing and operating on them.]
Kugugugung…!!!
Each time Ballak spoke, gravitational waves exploded, distorting the night sky without cease.
Lennok couldn’t even guess how much stronger Ballak’s adjusted abilities had become.
[In the name of Ballak O’Edon, vanguard of the Ability Awakening Warband, I forbid you from acquiring any further ‘talents’.]
“Interesting. Do you know that saying that makes me want it even more?”
The Conjunction Spell Master, showing a bright smile for the first time, slowly took off the glove on his right hand and tossed it aside.
“Can’t be helped. I’ve been thinking I needed to make an example, at least once, since taking on the role of Gateway administrator.”
[An example, you say.]
“Ability Awakening Warband. The corpses of superhumans would make a perfect specimen for my Operating Theater.”
The Conjunction Spell Master smoothly brushed the cold night air with his bare hand and stepped forward, speaking.
“I’ll cut open your skull, take out your brain, and display them neatly in my dissection room.”
[……]
“A superhuman who reached 8th level with only innate talent. No doubt an idiot who can’t control his own abilities, running wild, right?”
The Conjunction Spell Master adjusted his mask with his other gloved hand and channeled his magic.
“Let’s begin. I’ll show you right here how unrefined innate talent can be.”
[Conjunction Spell Master. You don’t seem to realize yet.]
Kugugugu…!!!
Ballak’s booming voice reverberated amidst the ground-shaking tremors.
[Have you not guessed why I haven’t stepped onto the field since arriving at the Gateway?]
“What?”
[The adjustment of my abilities, which I invested months into.]
As the Conjunction Spell Master also realized this and stared at the shaking ground, Ballak clenched both fists tightly.
[All of that, Conjunction Spell Master. Was to maximize the constraints for confronting you…!!!]
Kiiii-eek…!!
The hundreds of meters wide gravitational field covering the black market tilted obliquely.
With a creaking sound like grinding metal, the earth slowly trembled.
As the Conjunction Spell Master frowned slightly at the fierce gravitational pressure, the ground split, and violet gravitational waves erupted.
KWA-GWA-GWA!!!
Intense crimson pillars surged up dozens at a time in all directions, lashing the ground like whips.
All terrain and structures in the area swept by the gravitational waves were compressed and crushed.
The pressure was so immense, like an invisible giant wildly stomping on the black market, that even Lennok’s expression hardened.
‘The power…’
The range and intensity of the gravitational field were excessively larger than expected.
The output felt several times greater than when he faced him in the labyrinth.
But the Conjunction Spell Master did not move, even as the gravitational waves poured down on him.
He merely extended his bare hand, having removed the glove, into the ripple of gravity that crushed everything around him.
Kudududuk!!
The moment the Conjunction Spell Master’s hand touched the gravitational wave, a bizarre, twisting sound reverberated.
Immediately after, the circling gravitational wave twisted and inverted, veering past the Conjunction Spell Master and crushing the ground beside him.
KWA-AANG!!
Udeudeuk!!
The ripple of gravity crisscrossed diagonally through the black market street and exploded.
Lennok’s eyes, watching the Conjunction Spell Master lift his bare hand, glinted sharply.
‘That is the Conjunction Spellcraft.’
The Conjunction Spellcraft’s ability was, literally, to connect objects and control the connected targets.
Everything the Conjunction Spell Master touched would fuse instantly, transforming into tools that obeyed his will.
It was a simple ability, perhaps, but the problem was that the scope of the Conjunction Spellcraft’s application was absurdly vast.
He could connect and forcibly close a Domain, or link gravitational waves with surrounding building debris to twist their direction.
It was a power that could connect living beings to create aberrant Chimeras, and conversely, surgically treat and heal high-level superhumans.
‘The maximal expansion of spell application unique to the trait-type system. So this is what’s possible at 8th level.’
Normally, vague concepts like ‘conjunction’ would not be defined and operated under the laws of spellcraft.
It was a miracle that could only exist due to the trait-type power, which expanded the concept of spellcraft to an absurd degree.
This was also why the Conjunction Spell Master existed as a uniquely powerful individual within the Alliance, one of the four Grand Spell Masters forming the Great Connection.
“No wonder, I thought the output was strangely strong even when using spellcraft…”
The Conjunction Spell Master, who had twisted the tangible gravity with his bare hands, slowly dusted them off and said,
“A Geas that boosts your ability output only when fighting me as the designated target, is it?”
[……]
“You’re insane. If you boost the power of your superhuman ability with such a constraint, even an 8th-level ability user wouldn’t be able to handle the backlash.”
[Confronting a trait-type spellcaster like you on the battlefield without such resolve is the arrogance of the weak.]
Kwooong!!
Ballak, who had descended onto the ruined black market street, said.
[Now that you are far from your Domain, this might be the opportune moment to challenge you.]
“No, it’s pointless.”
The Conjunction Spell Master clenched and unclenched his hand, then looked up and replied.
“My spellcraft is fundamentally not specialized for combat. Therefore, it is not affected by the environment.”
*Thump! *
The Conjunction Spell Master placed his bare hand on a piece of building debris, channeled his magic, and tilted his head.
At that moment, a massive shield, made by joining pieces of building debris, surged up and received the gravitational waves.
*Jeeong!! *
An incredible durability, unbelievable for a shield made by joining building debris that would normally crumble underfoot.
The Conjunction Spell Master, who had brought down the debris shield he created with a mere gesture, said,
“The presence or absence of a Domain is no problem for me.”
[Indeed, let’s see if that’s just empty confidence…!!]
Weee-iiing!!!
As Ballak clenched both fists, a dense violet light began to gather in his hands.
At the same time, objects around Ballak’s hands rotated as if being sucked in, distorting the visible space.
KWA-GWA-GWA!!!
The hundreds of meters wide gravitational field hanging over the black market responded to Ballak’s will.
The moment it encompassed the entire black market street, pressing down.
[Haaaaaaah!!!]
Ballak, with clenched fists, then raised both hands as if flipping them over his head.
An action like pulling up an invisible void. Simultaneously, the ground exploded, and the earth tilted diagonally.
KWA-WOO-OOONG!!!
As the Conjunction Spell Master leaped following the explosion, Ballak then grabbed the void and pulled it down.
All objects suspended in the air, including the Conjunction Spell Master, plummeted to the ground at supersonic speed, shattering on impact.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!
Creating a focal point within the gravitational field, twisting the direction of gravity, and amplifying its output.
The gravitational waves generated by manipulating the focal point pulled and threw the surrounding scenery.
As Ballak, suspended in the air, swung the gravity sphere, the ground was pulverized, turning into a devastated wasteland.
“It’s a shame I don’t have my scalpel. I don’t particularly like such crude situations.”
But amidst the storm of gravitational waves, the Conjunction Spell Master’s expression remained unchanged.
Kii-iiing!!!
He connected building debris to form bridges, erected walls and towers to withstand the gravitational waves.
He summoned Chimeras, made of connected flesh, to serve as meat shields, and used them as footholds to leap, increasing his speed.
The free manipulation of spellcraft, regardless of target or perspective, was astonishing, but truly marvelous was the complete lack of preliminary signs during the process.
The spellcraft was completed and activated the moment it made contact with an object. The mana consumed was almost negligible.
Proof that the Conjunction Spellcraft was optimized to a near-perfect theoretical level.
Kigigigigigik!!!
Behind the Conjunction Spell Master, accelerating as if gliding, connected structures and Chimeras sprung up and swayed everywhere.
Wherever his hands swept past, everything was transformed and altered, creating a forest of aberrations.
The black market, pulverized by gravitational waves, was re-constructed by Conjunction Spellcraft, adding to the chaos.
Kwoong!!
Ballak, watching the battlefield where destruction and creation alternated, roared and further increased his output.
[If Conjunction Spellcraft is the problem, then it’s simple to eliminate the materials for the spell…!!]
Ballak’s eyes gleamed amidst the rain of gravitational waves falling like bombs, shattering the ground.
[I’ll turn the black market, and everything here, into a puddle of blood!!!]
KWA-AAAAANG!!
Hundreds of gravitational waves fell, and the debris scattered across the black market vanished into dust.
Conjunction Spellcraft was a powerful force, but its true value emerged when there were materials to connect.
If Ballak eliminated all targets for the Conjunction Spell Master to connect, Ballak would inevitably gain the upper hand.
[OOOOOHHHHH!!!!]
Weee-iiing!!
As Ballak raised both hands, eight gravitational spheres materialized above his head.
As the eight gravitational spheres rotated around the gravitational field, the ground of the mining area caught in the field was ground into dust, as if being torn apart.
An intense bombardment followed, as if invisible hands were breaking, churning, and compressing the cliffs and ground of the mining area.
“Hahah.”
With the Conjunction Spell Master’s low chuckle, the entire mining area where the black market was located tore itself free and floated into the air.
KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA!!!!
The entire black market street, hundreds of meters in radius, lifted into the air like a colossal floating island.
An uncanny feat of manipulating the entire gravitational field across the black market to lift a tangible object.
Only, the target wasn’t merely objects or people, but the mining area itself, located on the outskirts of Gateway City.
“The hierarchy of the Ability Awakening Warband is the most disorganized of any faction I’ve encountered.”
Even for the Conjunction Spell Master, the sheer scale seemed absurd, as he looked up.
“Even with the targeted Geas, you, a mere superhuman, are only the Sixth?”
[OOOOOHHHHH!!!]
He lifted the entire black market street and used gravity to slam it into the ground.
The output was enough to crush the Conjunction Spell Master’s body, no matter what he tried.
Staring at the rapidly approaching ground with an expressionless face, the Conjunction Spell Master then took off the glove on his left hand.
“I admit it. At least for the duration of the surgery, I won’t be able to finish my work.”
The Conjunction Spell Master pressed his palms together and said,
“Shall we start by unraveling that targeted designation?”
Jjeojeojeok…!!!
Black mana, twisted like acrid smoke, rose from the Conjunction Spell Master’s body.
It was a dull, sticky mana, hard to believe it belonged to the faintly present Conjunction Spell Master.
Lennok’s face hardened as he realized it was the unique mana of a trait-type spellcaster.
“Spellcraft activation. Target designation added.”
The Conjunction Spell Master lightly twisted his clasped hands and muttered,
“Life Domain Summon.”
Jjeo-eoooo-eop!!!
At that moment, a colossal, flesh-covered structure, wrapped in a membrane, surged from the ground.
A gigantic flesh dome, hundreds of meters in size. It wriggled grotesquely like a living organism, twisting its body, and possessed the exact same presence as the Conjunction Spell Master.
Only then did Lennok realize how the Conjunction Spell Master had countered Ballak’s attack, and his face became stone-hard.
“He used a Domain to unravel the targeted Geas…!!”
The Domain, acquired upon reaching 8th level, was a power that projected the spellcaster’s ideal self.
Therefore, in spellcraft, the existence of a Domain was treated as synonymous with the spellcaster themselves.
The Geas cast by Ballak O’Edon was a restriction that boosted his superhuman ability’s output only when fighting the Conjunction Spell Master as the designated target.
However, the Conjunction Spell Master had summoned his Domain, increasing the number of targets designated by Ballak’s Geas, thereby forcibly unraveling the targeted Geas.
[Ugh…?!]
As the single target of the Geas increased to two, the Geas misaligned, and backlash occurred.
Ballak coughed up blood and stumbled, yet he gritted his teeth and dropped the island he had created.
The membrane-covered ceiling of the Operating Theater opened like an insect’s mouth, fully receiving the falling island.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
With an enormous shockwave, the debris of the black market ground was crushed and mixed into the flesh.
The space of the Operating Theater rapidly enveloped Lennok’s falling body, drawing him in as if pulling him closer.
“……”
Lennok, aware of the movement, instead of resisting, surrendered himself to the pull.
Click, click.
An irritating metallic friction sound. Cold, inorganic air.
The coppery scent of blood stung his nose, and bright light pressed against his eyelids.
He opened his eyes.
A blood-stained, pink room. Someone in green surgical scrubs stood with their back to Lennok.
“……”
Lennok was about to speak, but then saw the belts tightly binding him and fell silent.
His body was firmly restrained, limb by limb, on a massive operating table.
The other person, without turning to look at Lennok, spoke.
“You’re awake.”
“……Where is this?”
“Why are you asking now?”
The Conjunction Spell Master, his back still turned, walked towards Lennok and said,
“Welcome to my Operating Theater.”