Lennok had never intended to engage in a battle with his opponent from the outset.
This particular challenge was distinct from the difficulty he faced in manifesting his personally crafted domain within the present environment and circumstances.
Once the unique vision of the domain acquired by Lennok came to light, it could trigger an uncontrollable chain reaction.
In essence, if he wished to safeguard a secret, he had to eliminate his adversary within the domain he had unfolded, regardless of the consequences.
The individuals currently before him were White Lion Thuran and the fire-elemental Archmage Geonis.
If Lennok were to earnestly unfurl his self-conceived domain and confront both of them simultaneously, there was no guarantee he could silence them both through lethal means.
Why complicate matters? Unfolding a domain was merely a facet of his strategy to arrange the situation as he desired.
And even before his discovery of the Domain, Lennok had been proficient in such tactical matters.
Kwagwagwang!!
The distant gunfire continued unabated, and the equilibrium, once disrupted by the relentless pounding of the stone slab, remained elusive.
It wasn’t just a matter of being jolted by the impacts.
This stone slab, spanning tens of meters in radius, floated effortlessly hundreds of meters above the crater thanks to its exquisite balance, aided by the powerful forces of nature.
The instant that delicate equilibrium faltered, the magic’s potency dissipated as if it had been a mere illusion.
Kiiiiiiiiii……
The slanting stone slab began to slowly disintegrate.
It created an illusion as if the stars in the night sky were suddenly ascending, a clear sign that the ground beneath was descending.
Simultaneously, a fierce wind enveloped the trio from all directions, contorting their bodies.
Whiiiiiiing!!!
“…This is insane,” Geonis muttered, belatedly realizing they had reached a point of no return, cold sweat forming on his brow.
“Are you saying you decided to completely destroy the tower’s secret that has existed for hundreds of years to escape this situation……!!”
“Isn’t it much better than the entire Western Continent branch being taken over?” Lennok responded dispassionately, slowly edging away while stealing a glance at the tower.
“Where do you think you’re going, you insolent brat!!” Thuran, sensing Lennok’s brief movement as an attempt to save survivors, tried to intercept him, but Geonis gripped his shoulder.
“Thuran, snap out of it!!”
“What…!!”
“This is not the time to be confronting each other. We need to escape right now.”
“What kind of nonsense is that!!”
Thuran roared vehemently, his beastly aura bearing down on his comrade in reverse.
“After all the effort I put into driving him to this point, you’re saying we should back out now!!”
“……”
“What about all my suffering, enduring by feeding on tasteless humans!!”
“Look at the direction we’re falling.”
Thuran, doused with cold reality, turned his head upon hearing Geonis’s icy tone.
“Southwest. The direction where Missile is waiting. If we go this way, we will allow ourselves to be surrounded by that wizard and Missile.”
“……”
“Considering the tilt and cut of the stone slab, that wizard has been exchanging blows with us from the start with this in mind.”
Thuran, rendered speechless, gazed downward at the ground while clutching the stone slab.
There was no need to estimate the immense weight of this colossal stone slab.
As the massive mass of rock accelerated towards the ground with each passing moment,
The moment he glimpsed the figure of the archer radiating green light below,
Thuran comprehended what Geonis was conveying.
The wizard, who had been observing the situation while clinging to the slab with them, aimed to completely alter the course of the game by revealing the tower’s secret in a single move.
Continuing down this path would render their long-standing efforts in capturing the tower and establishing a favorable environment futile, only to be ruthlessly defeated by Lennok and Evelyn within the very arena that Lennok had crafted in just one day.
“……!!”
Having grasped the situation to this extent, Thuran no longer spoke. He swiftly lifted Geonis onto his shoulder and crouched low.
Eudeudeudeudeuk!!!
Thuran’s powerful thighs swelled rapidly, causing the stone slab beneath him to crumble. With gathered strength and a powerful leap, he propelled himself into the air.
Kwaang!!
As Thuran launched himself off the stone slab, the half-tilted platform completed a full somersault.
Simultaneously, Thuran, carrying Geonis, soared toward the crater.
Any hesitation, even for a moment, would subject them to a barrage from both Evelyn and Lennok.
“But it’s too late.”
The ground was now within Lennok’s view, the edge of an unnamed hill in the volcanic region.
“Huup…”
Evelyn, taking a deep breath, nocked her final arrow.
A long black lance emitting green waves.
The equipment, typically used for close combat, transformed into a colossal ballista with wings extended on either side, anchored into the ground.
The archer, gracefully turning her body with the green light between the intricate mechanical wings, released a black arrow, imbued with magical energy, held between her thumb and index finger.
Ssaaeeeeeek!!!!
The arrow, accelerated by two shockwaves in the air, pursued Thuran’s figure.
A long streak of pitch-black light traced an elongated arc across the night sky, racing ahead of the sound.
In the dimly visible night sky, a delicate premonition meticulously tracked the two individuals rapidly distancing themselves from the stone slab.
There was no time to marvel at this miraculous archery.
“Kaaaaaaa!!!”
There was no escape.
Realizing this suddenly, Thuran, with a torn throat, let out a scream and hurled the two-handed ax he was holding with all his might.
In mid-air, the fiercely propelled ax spun, seeking to intercept the arrow.
Kiiiiiiik-!
In response, the arrow adjusted its course.
“……!!!!”
This was the level of mastery Evelyn Marcia had attained after completing the seven stages of self-transformation.
The point of interference reachable only by those who, as fully realized warriors, had confronted themselves and embraced their inner world.
Inner world projection.
Microcosm manifestation.
Inertia manipulation.
Kikikikikikikikikik……!!!
The arrow, traveling at supersonic speed, oddly rotated in mid-air and deflected the double-edged ax thrown by Thuran. The skill that twisted in an impossible direction and relentlessly pursued the target’s heart had clearly transcended human archery.
The arrow, abruptly changing course at a right angle in the empty air, pierced through Thuran’s back.
Kagagagak!!
With the resounding roar of the White Lion, the figures of the beast and the wizard, tracing a parabolic trajectory towards the tower, plummeted straight to the ground.
Kuuuung!!!
Only after confirming this, did Evelyn gradually lower the bow she held.
A moment later, the massive stone slab, tens of meters in size, tumbled behind her, creating a deafening cacophony.
A powerful earthquake capable of shaking the entire volcanic region struck the dry rocky area nearby.
Kukukukukukuku!!!
The shockwaves rippled through the earth, causing long-embedded rocks to dislodge, and the slowly flowing lava river to splatter in all directions.
The stone slab, fallen from a height of hundreds of meters, finally came to rest after leaving a lengthy furrow near the southwestern edge of the volcanic region.
Amidst this spectacle of impact, only the tower at the center of the stone slab remained intact.
Lennok, who had wrapped hundreds of strands of mana around the tower just moments before it struck the ground, had shielded it from the impact of the fall.
Evelyn, observing Lennok standing atop the tower, holding onto hundreds of threads of mana, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Haah… That was close. You know?”
“It didn’t go as planned.”
Lennok, who had been clinging to the tower’s pinnacle, descended to the ground and waved his hand.
As he gestured, the dust in the vicinity scattered in all directions on the wind.
“I didn’t expect Geonis to try to ensnare me so openly. He must have been that confident in succeeding his plan right now.”
Lennok uttered this while gazing in the direction of the tower’s main base beyond the crater.
“I succeeded in rescuing the members of the Elder Council and the Makina’s delegation that he had hidden, but now the issue is Furnace and Mauser.”
It was not a random choice to drop this secret object hovering above the crater.
Having learned from experience in the autonomous region that bringing something floating in the air down to the ground was the most effective approach, Lennok had employed this strategy.
It wasn’t just about shattering Geonis’s carefully crafted board.
Hidden within that secret were numerous magical tomes and the members of the Elder Council and the mechanical city delegation whom Geonis had kept alive, merely attached to it.
By simply allowing the stone slab to plummet to the ground, he had succeeded in rescuing those who had not yet fallen prey to Thuran.
Of course, he couldn’t prevent Thuran and Geonis from escaping due to the tremendous impact of the fall. Nevertheless, it was a significant victory to have rescued the key figures of the tower.
“I was lucky.”
Lennok replied, massaging his stiff shoulders.
Despite actively using levitation magic and clinging to the tilting stone slab, the strain on his body had been challenging to withstand.
It was only after lighting two cigarettes simultaneously that the tremors subsided.
“He must have thought I was a top-tier ice wizard,” he remarked, summarizing what he had learned from Geonis.
Evelyn’s expression subtly contorted as she absorbed the explanation.
“……It’s true that there are many problems with the higher-ups of the tower. I don’t want to take their side, but crossing the line to harm innocent others was too much. How could you think of trusting the pandemonium?”
“Well…… The problem seems to be that they are very close to success. From what I heard, the preparations for transporting Furnace seem to be completed.”
“Once they start running with the ember, it will be difficult to stop. It’s like moving with a bomb… We have to end it here.”
Lennok and Evelyn harbored no illusions that the single arrow she had just released had killed the two superhumans. They understood the nature of Pandemonium far too well to believe that.
What mattered now was seizing this moment and cutting off their lifeline without delay.
“……”
Evelyn’s hand quivered slightly. She didn’t display it openly, but this mission must have weighed heavily on her as well. Especially after pushing her mana to the limit to dissipate the heat while preventing the Furnace incident, it was impossible not to suffer aftereffects. Moreover, she had attempted several extremely long-range shots in response to Lennok’s actions, so it was natural for her to be strained.
Both of them were far from being in peak condition, but neither voiced this fact. They both understood that combat was never conducted under ideal circumstances.
The battle between life and death was always unfair and irrational. Even voicing complaints or worries about it was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Silently, Evelyn turned her head back and massaged her arm. The agents she had brought with her were diligently rescuing people who were barely breathing inside the tower and laying them down.
“How are they doing?” Lennok inquired.
An agent, preoccupied with emergency treatment, replied, “There’s a life response, but the consciousness is almost gone. It seems almost vegetative. It smells of Corpse Soul Art (屍魂術).”
Corpse Soul Art. A form of necromancy that either artificially animates a corpse with a soul or reverses the process, a practice strictly condemned in scholarly circles.
Lennok and Evelyn exchanged glances and took action. Lennok extended his mana into one of the Council members, while Evelyn examined the mouths of the individuals with vacant expressions.
Both arrived at the same conclusion through different means.
“They used drugs.” Lennok stated.
In agreement, Evelyn nodded. “They loosened their consciousness with food and drugs, then applied witchcraft. It’ll be difficult for them to regain consciousness anytime soon. It’s going to be hard to get help from these people.”
They had initially believed that Geonis was acting unilaterally, disregarding the Council’s intentions. However, they hadn’t fathomed the extent to which he had gone.
It wasn’t merely about subduing them and making them compliant; it was likely that he needed to offer them as sustenance to the White Lion.
It was evident how meticulously he had prepared for this situation.
“Let’s move immediately,” Evelyn urged, looking at her trembling hand as she rose to her feet. “If we lose them here, we’ll lose everything, including Mauser and Furnace. We have to settle this here before they return to the tower.”
“Don’t worry. Your last arrow hit its mark.” Lennok reassured her as he stood up. “They couldn’t have gone far.”
Lennok had been using magical detection to scan the volcanic region’s vicinity for some time now. The intense presence of the two superhumans had remained relatively stationary after their fall.
They likely understood that fleeing to the tower at this point would offer little sanctuary.
With the successful downing of the escaping White Lion, the battle had essentially been decided. It was now time to hunt down the wounded beast.
(To be Continued)
