Episode 821:
Knot (8)
Deadrise, a private military company. Corps 2nd Command, which manages the Far Eastern region of the Central Front.
It is a particularly large branch within the organization that has grown in power by absorbing all kinds of warlords.
This is because the Far East Front has recently undergone repeated upheavals, and Deadrise has also experienced several inevitable conflicts and mergers.
Not only the Qing Dynasty is trying to advance from the Eastern Continent towards the Central Front, but also the Hedro warlord who has become corrupted and gone crazy.
From crazy apostles who go on a rampage regardless of whether they are allies or not, and drunkards from the Spell Alliance who appear on the battlefield as they please and engage in eccentric acts.
Currently, the 2nd Command Center cannot escape from that trend, and even now hundreds of corpses are scattered in front of the Command Center, forming a mountain.
Gooooo!!
A dry scene where people die and die again and again, becoming completely insensitive to the value of life.
Every moment I endure and work here, I feel like my emotions are being diminished.
A man wearing a pure white coat was sitting on top of the mountain of corpses, listening to the staff’s reports.
“The memorial tower collapsed?”
“The specific circumstances have not yet been identified, but the information is almost certain at this time.”
The staff looked at the man’s back and spoke again with tense expressions.
“It is said that the huge tower that penetrated the sky above the military city has disappeared, and the surrounding air pressure is shaking wildly in the aftermath.”
“….”
“It was cross-verified through a shaman currently stationed at the headquarters, so it is probably solid information.”
“Oh, I see. “Because Yorta is located near the East Continent.”
The man scratched his head as if he had finally realized why the staff was reporting this to him.
Following the gesture, blood crusts fell from his long hair, which was as white as snow.
The man asked, turning his head towards the staff with a blank expression.
“Are you reporting this because I am close to the generals? “Can I go there?”
“…How can we organize an operation for Captain Song Ha?”
The staff hurriedly waved their hands in horror.
“However, other forces may also have received related information and started to move. “They will want to see for themselves what happened to Yorta.”
“….”
“The 2nd Command is planning to directly select a search party and send it to Yorta. “The reason I told this to the captain was to get permission to organize a search party-”
“Why are you going through all the trouble of selecting people one by one?”
A man named Song Ha jumped up, tying up his long hair with one hand.
“I will go there myself. Hang in there.”
“Great Captain!!”
“That’s not it…!! Please calm down and listen!!”
The staff members were embarrassed and hurriedly grabbed the trouser legs of the man they called Songha.
Even within Deadrise, which has grown in size by absorbing warlords, there are only a very few superhumans who have received the title of general.
This is because increasing or decreasing the general strength is not allowed without the approval of Marshal Deadrise.
Moreover, rank rankings are given not only based on individual strength, but also on merit within the organization and various aptitudes.
And this man who is now waving his arms in front of the staff is a superman who has achieved the rank of general, one of only three generals in Deadrise.
He is a monster who set aside all other criteria and became a man with only one talent and ability.
“I did everything Ethan asked me to do. “I’ve been waiting for the remnants of the Hedro warlord for three days, but now no one is coming.”
Songha pointed to the bodies piled up like a mountain beneath his feet.
The staff, who knew that this was a massacre that was handled solely by him, all fell silent.
Seeing that scene, Songha flapped her white coat and began to warm up.
“If we run from here to Yorta, we’ll get there in two days. “It won’t take long, so I’ll be back soon.”
“Great Captain…!!”
“All I have to do is go to Yorta and ask what happened?”
When Song Ha seemed to have already made up his mind, his staff gave up and began to persuade him in other ways.
“…Can you please wait a moment as we try to gather more information?”
“If an incident of this magnitude were to occur, it would not be long before information began to leak out.”
“We need to clearly understand the situation and officially organize a unit-”
“No, I have to go now.”
Song Ha said that and jumped up, lightly jumping over the heads of the staff.
Abnormally elongated limbs. Even his appearance seems to be elongated as he limps around wearing a pure white coat and clothes.
The sword, which was as long as his long, bent legs, was swinging wildly at his waist.
“Now that I think about it, I heard that Ethan traveled to Yorta a long time ago.”
“…Are you talking about Marshal Wo?”
“We should leave before we forget. “I’ll go and come back.”
While the staff members faced each other with pale complexions, Song Ha stepped on the mountain of corpses and began to run down.
Thump thump paaaang!!
Songha’s new model, which seemed to be lightly bouncing, accelerated explosively on the spot and disappeared beyond the headquarters in an instant.
The staff looked at the situation for a while, unable to say anything.
“…So I told you not to report it to the captain.”
“Considering the importance of this matter, a military rank or higher is definitely needed to form a search party. “You’re going to handle this without getting approval from your superiors?”
Yorta’s memorial tower is the city’s core facility and an important foundation that served as a wedge between the stairs.
When a tower collapses, it is impossible to completely hide the aftermath.
Since the atmospheric pressure around Yorta itself has changed, information related to the central front must have spread widely by now.
In that case, the staff’s failure to report this fact to the headquarters is no different from dereliction of duty.
The problem was that the person currently at the 2nd Command Center was Captain Song Ha, who had been waiting after receiving orders from the Marshal.
Even in the eyes of Deadrise’s loyal staff, Songha was by no means someone with normal emotions.
A free-spirited and disorderly personality that does not fit with the corps’ discipline.
Nevertheless, it is also true that his special position of holding the position of commander and receiving orders from the enemy felt even more burdensome to the staff.
“It would have been better if there had been someone like Lieutenant General Damus…”
“Don’t you know that the generals’ activities have decreased since the disappearance of Major General Grisburn? “I can’t help it now.”
“Discard the search party formation plan. “First, we will clean up any traces of the fighting that took place in front of the headquarters.”
“First, upload the agenda to the headquarters’ public communication network. “There will be follow-up action once other generals who are eligible have confirmed it.”
One of the staff members sighed and began to organize documents.
“If the Marshal left something behind in Yorta, this may be a dramatic lesson for us.”
* * *
Several days have passed since Croken Asillus collapsed the cenotaph and disappeared.
A view of the remains of the bedrock piled up like a mountain where the tower collapsed, and the canal that collapsed between them.
The river is blocked by debris from the tower and overflows, and nearby facilities and buildings are tilted and shaken.
The living and military officers came from all over the stairs to see with their own eyes what was happening in the city.
A mausoleum located far away from the ruins of the collapsed memorial tower.
A sanctuary for the dead, with huge tombs and statues of gods filling the walls.
Hundreds of people and military orders were passing by to observe and monitor the condition of a wizard who was isolated in the center of the sanctuary.
[Spiritual stimulation failed. Cannot be specified.]
[No training or training allowed. Unable to contemplate spiritually and physically.]
Uuuuuung!!!
All kinds of strange thoughts and wills floating above his head engulf Lennok’s body and soon fall away without any response.
[It doesn’t react at all, regardless of whether it is conscious or not.]
[Even interference is impossible with the system of magic that deals with the soul.]
[It’s as if it’s dealing with an inanimate object. How can a living human be like this…]
Shamans, military magicians, and psychics who perform magic on the living from all over Yorta come one by one, clucking their tongues and retreating.
“There is a very strong barrier of will. “I just can’t get over it.”
“He is a magician so powerful that he cannot even be compared to me. “If I try harder here, my mind might be ruined.”
“I don’t give up. “I don’t want to get killed for playing tricks on a madman like this.”
There are many people who try to touch a magician who is tied up in a transparent hemispherical barrier, but then get scared and run away, and on the other hand, even give up without even being able to touch the magician.
Rather, the more experienced and well-known a psychic or shaman is in their field, the quicker they give up.
The heavenly spirits who had been imprisoning Lennok under orders from the heroic spirits shook their heads in astonishment.
“It’s absurd….”
“The guys in the tower had to deal with something like that?”
“Look at that. “They are looking at us openly.”
The wizard’s body is bound by thick chains of fog beyond the transparent hemispherical dome.
However, rather than cowering at the sight of the military orders surrounding him, Lennok instead looks back at them and gestures.
The heavenly spirits who had been following the hand gesture without thinking opened their mouths when they realized what Lennok was doing.
“That human… he’s practicing martial arts while watching us.”
“…what?”
A nagging voice came from next to Lennok, who was gesturing while looking at the astonished demons.
“no. Because that’s not it. “It means moving your senses in that way.”
“….”
“You were wrong again. “What are you listening to me for?”
Ignoring the constant scolding in his ears, Lennok focused on manipulating the military order in front of him.
[Huh.]
A whitish spirit body. The lowest-ranking military order that has no form whatsoever.
Lennok was lying down on the bed and carefully pointed his finger at the commander.
Following the hand gesture, it begins to roll over, twisting and turning its body in the air.
[Ugh!!]
But the military spirit couldn’t hold on for a moment and exploded and disappeared.
The spiritual body of a boy sitting next to the bed. Grand Judiciary Oris looked at Rennok and struck him with excitement.
“This is why they are humans. “You don’t even understand the delicate way our heroic spirits exist.”
“….”
“Why are you looking at me like that? “Wasn’t it you who suggested it in the first place, asking me to teach you how to manipulate the spirit body?”
“…It’s not like that.”
Lennok answered, struggling to undo the bandage that covered his chin.
“For someone who was revived just before extinction, he has quite a bit of momentum.”
“….”
The sight of Oris looking the other way, as if he had hit the nail on the head.
The shabby appearance of being tortured by Jinhon Jeong and brought to the brink of extinction is nowhere to be seen.
“Well, wasn’t it thanks to you that you too were able to enjoy a brief respite in this mausoleum?”
Oris cleared his throat and crossed his arms.
“If I hadn’t called in the exiled heroes to resolve the situation, you would have been a blown-up corpse in the bed of the Hedrain River a long time ago.”
“Even if I say it, it’s so… vulgar.”
Since the memorial tower collapsed and the spirits of the requiem disappeared, it is natural for the city to shake.
The moment when the military orders residing on each floor of Yorta ran rampant and the entire city was about to fall into uncontrollable chaos.
As soon as the tower collapsed, the awakened ancient spirits appeared and began to rebuild the city.
Powerful military spirits who were exiled from the nightlife like Oris. Ancient spirits who were sleeping in the underground stairs, rebelling against the decision of the requiem.
A strange coincidence that a large number of powerful people who had been completely forgotten in the history of Yorta awakened and took back the city again.
Looking back on what Kroken said as he left, this may have been one of the intended results.
Looking back, I experienced something similar in Machine City.
Machina, who failed in the Ascension Gate plan, also had many monsters lurking in the shadows of the city, watching the situation unfold.
‘Mastermind’, a level 8 psychometric ability encountered in the shadows of Machina, is a monster so dangerous that even Lennok cannot estimate its power.
Thinking about him, it was no wonder that monsters with a similar history existed in Yorta under the city’s shadow.
However, even though Lennok understood Oris’ words, he raised his hand with an expression of annoyance.
“If you want to show off like that, first take off these shackles. “What kind of treat is this for a lifesaver?”
Wow!!
The thick chain of fog that tightly bound Lennok’s wrists shook violently in response to the gesture.
“…Hmm, from there, it’s not my responsibility.”
At Lennok’s words, Oris averted his gaze further and began clearing his throat violently.
“If you ask me, it’s not me who is resolving the chaos in the city right now, but the heroic spirits trapped in the depths of Yorta.”
“so?”
“Wouldn’t it be obvious what he thinks of you?”
“….”
The ancient heroes who are currently resolving the chaos in Yorta on behalf of the Requiem are not aware of anything about Lennok.
The only situation they heard was about an outlaw who broke into Mugan’s sanctuary, awakened the Ascendant Dorae, and destroyed Mugan.
It goes without saying that they cannot just sit idly by as they try to resolve the chaos in the city.
However, this in no way meant that it was a reason for Lennok to take that into consideration and look at the situation.
“This chain of fog.”
Lennok said, looking at the chain rattling around his wrist.
“The exact same thing was hung on the body of Dorae hidden in the Infinite Sanctuary.”
“Hahahaha….”
“If you don’t solve this within today, I will destroy it myself with my own strength.”
Of course, Lennok’s body has not recovered enough to break free of the restraints surrounding him right now.
However, from Oris’s perspective, Lennok’s threat would not sound entirely false.
Naturally, the boy’s face changed into an indescribably troubled look.
“…I get it. “I will forward this to the higher-ups and deal with it quickly.”
“Why are you just sitting here, giving up your seat to other heroic spirits in the first place?”
Lennok said, taking out a cigar from his arms and biting into it.
“When you first asked for my cooperation, didn’t you talk nonsense about taking control of Yorta?”
“Even if I say this…”
The moment Oris was about to say something, as he raised his gaze as if he was offended by Lennok’s honest remark.
A cold female voice rang out from behind the two people.
“Oris Isen has become so weak that he can no longer exist as a heroic spirit.”
Jump up!!
At the same time as he said that, the barrier where Lennok was trapped opened wide and someone walked in.
As soon as she entered, the barrier turned pitch black, completely blocking the view around the shrine.
The appearance of a young woman wearing flowing clothes that cover her entire body.
That face, which is so expressionless that it feels even cold, does not show any emotion.
She casually walked in, glanced at Oris, and said:
“He was a great man who consumed the most energy among us even when he was expelled from the night tour. “He still looks like an immature boy, so the blow must be severe.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s late to say hello.”
The woman spoke, bowing politely while spreading one hand elegantly.
“Nymel. There is no last name. “Like Oris, he is an insignificant soul who was exiled from his night life and was trapped on the 17th floor of the Cenotaph.”
“….”
Even after hearing the answer from the woman who called herself Nymel, Lennok felt something off and frowned.
It was because I felt a strong, inexplicable sense of déjà vu from her etiquette, the way she spoke, and the spirit of her soul.
Nymel completely ignored Lennok’s reaction and stroked Oris’ head.
“Once this situation is resolved, Oris plans to work on recovering the spirit body. Considering his contribution, it is well deserved.”
“Don’t touch my fucking head!”
When Oris grumbled and slapped Nymel’s hand away, she withdrew her hand and looked away as if nothing had happened.
“What’s more important is what to do with this situation.”
“….”
“This is a criminal organization that not only damaged the bodies of the ascended beings enshrined without care and destroyed the sanctuary, but also destroyed the memorial tower….”
Naimel’s gaze suddenly became complicated.
“Things on earth are troublesome and complicated. While we forgot about the world, the outside world has changed so much.”
The Mangwi Night Journey is one of the oldest ascension rituals carried out on this continent, and the
heroic spirits who participated in the Night Journey are also beings who have been worn away by the passage of time over countless years.
It would be no wonder that Nymel, one of the old Heroic Spirits, was perplexed by the changes outside.
But Lennok sensed that that was not the only reason she was reluctant to do this.
Strangely familiar manners and gestures, polite but self-conscious speech, fluttering clothes and strangely clear presence.
I’m sure I traveled to Yorta with a spirit with a similar atmosphere.
Lennok, who finally confirmed the sense of stigma slowly moving towards Nymel, immediately opened his mouth.
“You’re not from this city.”
“….”
“Didn’t you belong to some religious group a long time ago?”
Woe!!
At that moment, a cold chill burst over the shrine where Lennok was imprisoned.
It was as if the fog of the soul flowing aimlessly everywhere was controlled at once and concentrated in this space.
They block and surround Lennok on all sides as if to prevent anyone from hearing what he says.
In the center of the fog, the figure of Nymel is shining with sharp anticipation, his expression covered by the wide sleeves of his robe.
“I told you I had no sex.”
Lennok asked, looking at Nymel who had frozen in place.
“Did you ever use the name Naidri before?”
