Episode 829:
Knot (16)
A dark cavity with no end in sight. An empty field with only black chairs lying around.
A simulated consciousness space reorganized to allow sharing of the spirit by forcibly transforming the thoughts of the dead.
This is an event recently organized by HiLea to exchange information about various disasters that constantly occur across the continent.
Lennok also visited this place before building the magic tower and heard about the progress of the battle.
However, that was not the issue that the members who came into contact with this ritual space today had to worry about.
Wow!!
Lennok’s new form, swollen black and swollen, is enlarged as if it will burst the conscious space.
Every time I moved, a loud noise erupted, the earth shook, and my consciousness blinked slowly.
Lennok’s appearance is constantly moving and moving like a jet-black monster.
The others quickly distanced themselves from the intense sense of discomfort as if their consciousness had broken away from the human form and transformed into a completely different being.
Whioooo!!
With just a brief wriggle, the beast’s form swept away the chairs placed in the middle of the cave and landed tall in their place.
The members muttered as they looked at a strange body writhing beyond the darkness as if pushing up its eyelids.
“It’s no different from a monster… It’s not an ordinary consciousness.”
“I can’t believe it looks like that in a ritual space like this. Did that crazy bastard finally quit being a human?”
Even those who are worried, annoyed, laughing, or analyzing the situation.
“He’s a special type of magician. It’s no wonder if I go crazy and break down at any time. The mind itself may have been deteriorated long ago.”
“I agree with you. He’s been hiding it all this time, but wouldn’t that be closer to his true nature?…”
Damus stood up and shook his head amidst a variety of emotions and cynicism that quickly crossed each other.
If left to these indifferent attendees, the situation showed no signs of calming down at all.
“I know I have business to attend to, so it would be best to calm down first.”
“….”
“Or are you planning on continuing to eat up all of this consciousness space?”
Gooooo…!!
Instead of answering, Lennok’s conscious body raises its head high and unfolds its body on the spot.
With that alone, it suppresses the consciousness of other members who access the consciousness space and deteriorates them little by little.
Magical power and intent flashed everywhere as the ferocity seemed to go beyond the extraordinary and indiscriminately devour others.
thud!!
“Victor!!”
Freyja, with her hair tied up, screamed in frustration.
“If we stop right now and do this, we might all be trapped here!!”
Lennok does not respond to Hilea’s loud shouts that pierce his head.
The ever-swelling thick darkness wriggles like an animal and presses down on Vernon, who is trampled underfoot.
“Ugh… I’m sober!! “I’m awake, so stop now!!”
The pressure was so heavy that Vernon, who was drunk and his face was red, opened his eyes and screamed.
There is a difference in the density of the mind to the extent that pain can be felt even in a space of consciousness where there is no reality.
Freya looked up at Lennok with a frown on her face and shook her head.
“Wrong. “I don’t think I can hear you at all?”
“What the hell is going on?”
Hilea, who belatedly accessed the ritual space, opened her mouth when she saw Lennok transformed into a monster.
“Hilea, what happened to that?”
“…I don’t know. “There was no sign at all until I connected here.”
Hilea muttered, looking closely at Lennok’s monster-like appearance.
“He looked so fine that it was hard to believe he had just returned from Yorta.”
“You just got back from Yorta?”
Freya turned her head with a startled look.
“So you’re saying it was that guy who knocked down the memorial tower?”
“…I was planning to explain that fact at this meeting.”
While Hilea shrugged, Damus calmly settled the situation.
“We communicated even immediately after connecting. “Once I realized my condition, I think something changed.”
“What do we do? Should we destroy the ritual space and banish it like this?”
“That’s nonsense…”
A gloomy mannequin, who had been listening to the conversation with bated breath, joined in the conversation.
Chevien, a puppeteer, laughed as he rattled his own mannequin.
“This is a ritual space created by processing Aguilon’s thoughts. It’s impossible to get that special ‘ingredient’ again. “Once you destroy it, you won’t be able to use it in the same way again…”
“Hey, doll catcher. Do you want to search? So, let’s leave it alone?”
“I’m just suggesting that we avoid ruining the ritual space for one person… What’s the complaint?”
Quick…!!
Freya and Chevien glared at each other almost simultaneously and raised their spirits.
Both of them are masters of mediation techniques, using direct and indirect media such as songs and puppets.
At the same time, they are the key people who reorganized this ritual space and made it a place where spiritual sharing is possible.
If a collision occurs in either case, the simulated consciousness space will not remain intact regardless of Lennok’s presence.
At that moment, a man’s voice rang out from beneath Freya’s feet.
“There is no need for you to decide on the existence of the ritual space among yourself while Sabrina is away. “I hope we avoid unnecessary conflicts.”
As a white ball of fur appeared writhing, Freyja turned her head and shouted.
“doctor!!”
“I think I’m having trouble controlling my surface consciousness. Let’s wait a moment.”
Damus immediately recognized the figure and turned his gaze.
“doctor. You came this time. “I couldn’t meet you last time.”
“As this agenda is important, I think there is a need to sort out the situation with those involved.”
The doctor said this and looked at Lennok’s consciousness writhing over the cavity.
“It looks like the person involved arrived safely, so that’s good. “Once you calm down, we’ll start right away.”
“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t look like it’s safe. “Is it okay if I wait like this?”
Damus said, looking at Lennok with a suspicious look.
“I know how unstable the minds of special magicians are. “Whether it’s talent or circumstances, it’s a fruitful power that blooms while being broken.”
“….”
“That is the most dangerous type of discomfort among them all. In the worst case, it could even affect the consciousness of those gathered here.”
A jet-black consciousness whose identity even the outlaws of Pandemonium cannot guess.
Damus understood from experience what the feeling of empty helplessness, as if looking into the open sea, meant.
That is the result of consciousness choosing the most dangerous way of existence in this world.
A power that can only be completed when something with immeasurable talent has been twisted and broken for a long time and rotted away for a long time.
The moment Damus was about to open his mouth to explain the ominous feeling he felt while looking at his enemy.
“Damus, you can say that because you don’t know Victor well, but…”
The doctor let out a low laugh through the hairball’s mouth.
“That manipulator is a man with a stronger sense of self than anyone I know. “It is very unlikely that you will run out of control because you cannot control yourself.”
“….”
“To me, that seems closer to a reaction that occurs in the process of controlling the overflowing surface consciousness.”
Even as he speaks, the darkness that seems to be devouring the surroundings is slowly fading away.
The doctor asked with a smile, as if he could clearly see through the thoughts swirling beyond the darkness.
“I think they’re probably figuring out why this happened, but that’s probably over by now. Isn’t that right, Victor?”
“…well.”
At that moment, Lennok’s answer rang out from beyond the darkness that swelled like a monster.
The wriggling curtain of darkness shrinks from its place and rotates on its own, reducing the area and height and compressing it into form.
The consciousness that seemed completely out of control quickly took shape and transformed into a robed magician.
Whoop!!
Lennok, who instantly regained his original appearance, adjusted his mask and sat down on an empty chair.
Only then did Vernon, who had been crushed under his feet, sigh helplessly as if he were going to survive.
“Ugh….”
“There’s nothing to understand. “It was just an unreasonable commotion.”
“You almost blew up this place and it was just a trivial commotion?”
Lennok, ignoring Freya’s irritated muttering, became lost in thought.
‘It was dangerous. I’ll have to be a little more careful in the future.’
With so many things he had experienced in Yorta, it was difficult for even Lennok to guess the cause of his current flood of consciousness.
The things that immediately come to mind are accepting the ideas of the Outer Sea through Gwangra Muhae Palace and receiving a modified magician from a noble in the central city.
The problem was in the reactions of the members who watched it, apart from the consciousness that could somehow be controlled.
“After all, that bastard is not human. yes?”
“I asked Sabrina, but she didn’t answer. Probably…”
“He must have been a very different person from the moment he was born. “There’s definitely a clue.”
Some people openly discuss Lennok’s origins as if they have noticed, while others react calmly as if they already know.
Although I dismissed it as no, I didn’t expect to be able to stop Agneta and the clown.
Lennok swept down his mask without even trying to stop them and winked at Damus.
“Sit down. “I think there’s something we need to hear from each other, right?”
“…The affairs of the 4th Corps are not my responsibility. “I’ll tell you in advance.”
Damus responded, sitting on a chair with an expressionless face.
Since I had heard about what happened in Yorta, I could understand what kind of explanation Lennok wanted.
“Regardless of the fact that they overturned Yorta, it was an unwise decision to put pressure on Lieutenant General Mirva.”
“….”
“She is a soldier. “He is also a professional soldier who is extremely obsessed with performance and grades.”
Damus spoke quickly, leaving behind the members who were accessing the ritual space one by one.
I guess it’s because I want to finish this story before the meeting starts.
“Because of your hostage situation, I was unable to enter Yorta and had to leave the legion, so I retaliated by revealing your identity.”
“It’s retaliation.”
“She would have been happy if you had killed Captain Songha on the spot. Lieutenant General Mirva is that kind of person.”
Damus’s words and actions casually mentioning murderous death to a general of the same Deadrise.
Is this attitude of thoroughly stepping into both forces and maintaining balance an act or his true intentions?
“How to prevent information leakage?”
“Since the relevant information has already been passed on to the Central Front media, it must be considered virtually impossible.”
Damus shook his head.
“When the memorial tower collapsed, things got too big. It wasn’t information that could be hidden in the first place. “If you wanted to hide your tracks, you should have been careful until the end.”
“You know that wasn’t possible…”
It was virtually certain that the memorial tower would collapse at the point where Croken intervened.
It was also an inevitable result that the commotion that occurred in Yorta became known to the outside world.
Damus’s words were close to the point, but in the end, they didn’t mean much to Lennok right now.
The doctor opened his mouth as if he had sensed Lennok’s thoughts.
“There is no way to keep Victor Iorta’s affairs completely secret.”
The doctor said, jumping up onto an empty chair with a bundle of pure white fur.
“If we treat the media officials who received information from Deadrise as a tribute, we can cover up related rumors without even a rat or a bird knowing.”
“It’s an offering ceremony?”
Lennok responded with a frown behind his mask.
“Why should we dispose of it as an offering rather than a killing planthopper?”
“The central media is very afraid of being involved with religious denominations.”
The doctor laughed.
“If you use human sacrifice appropriately, you can rely on the notoriety of the religious order to handle matters with ease.”
“….”
“Since Croken Asilus is involved, if you want, I will help you as if it were a debt.”
In the first place, the doctor is not the type of person who intervenes in the aftermath of a situation like this or dares to step forward on his own.
Nevertheless, the reason he intervenes at this point and says he will help Lennok is probably because this situation is related to Kroken.
However, Lennok rejected the doctor’s proposal without even thinking about it.
“It’s useless. “I’m not trying to stop the leak because I’m worried about annoying notoriety or something like that.”
“then?”
“I finished talking with Yorta’s leadership. I will never be officially identified as the culprit who collapsed the tower. But…”
Lennok’s eyes flashed coldly behind the obsidian mask.
“Regardless of responsibility, I was just trying to clarify where this information leak started.”
“….”
Now, it doesn’t matter if Victor’s notoriety or reputation spreads in a bad direction.
When I entered Pandemonium, I assumed that I would be labeled as a criminal.
I had no idea that he would become the terrorist who collapsed the memorial tower, but his notoriety began not with Yorta’s official designation, but with Deadrise’s information leak.
It would be enough to end this by clearly placing the responsibility on the commander of the Deadrise 4th Corps.
Lennok wanted to meet Damus here in order to clearly understand it and inform him.
“Well, that’s…”
“That’s your kind of thinking. “Are you going to personally punish Deadrise’s corps commander?”
“Considering his temper… I wouldn’t even bother to try it against a warlord of his caliber, even though it would be too much of a hassle.”
“Well, in some ways, it seems like he’s becoming more and more like Myeong…”
The other members, including Chevien, agree and sneer as if they knew that would happen.
Damus, who was frowning subtly, shook his head.
“Lieutenant General Mirva is a commander with a significant presence within Deadrise. “It’s inevitable that you will lose.”
Lennok sneered.
“I caught the captain there once, and it’s not something I can’t do.”
“….”
In the cold, subdued atmosphere, the doctor talked without paying attention.
“I’m sorry. It’s fun to use the offering ritual to put pressure on people and watch their reactions. Even when covering Machina’s secret story in the past-”
“Doctor.”
Hot!!
At that moment, a pure white hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed the fur ball.
When an executioner with a cold expression walked up behind the doctor and glared at him, the doctor hesitated and closed his mouth.
“Oh my. You arrived early. “I heard it will take some time.”
“….”
Maiya Renslit, who disappeared after the work in the Machine City was over, was also here.
The Doctor, Mya Freya, Chevien Damus, and Hilea. In addition, there were about three other faces that Vernon did not recognize.
As I was chatting with Damus, the place was already filling up and the members were all looking this way.
“Let’s stop talking about Deadrise and start the meeting.”
“The time you can maintain a conscious space is not long. “If you have any questions about Yorta’s affairs, please contact Victor directly in the future.”
Hilea said, clapping lightly to divert attention from the surrounding area.
“However, although Yorta’s work is under our jurisdiction, Machina’s work is completely different. “Everyone knows, right?”
Was the purpose of convening the meeting itself because of the massacre that occurred in Machina?
The other members also seemed to have heard the news and immediately began to bring out information about the scene one by one.
“How long has it been since the second apostle made a move himself? “I believe there were virtually no official records after the temple.”
“Since the church’s apostle killed half of the Supreme Council, it will probably turn into a major diplomatic issue.”
“Did you hear that the central mercenaries are heading towards Machina? There is some saying that the Machine City is participating in a new war…”
“Tokerfuzz is also making a fuss about that. “There are already gamblers who are assuming war and betting on it.”
“I don’t know why the cult is increasing its enemies at this time. Do we really want to go to war against the entire continent?”
Lennok also sat with his arms crossed and listened to their conversation in silence.
With so many people working on the front lines across the continent, the information being passed around is often far ahead of media reports.
Unlike the media, which only reports on the massacre and destruction of Machina, here they are seriously discussing follow-up measures and the possibility of the machine city participating in the war.
However, the most sensitive and important information belonged to those directly or indirectly related to Makina.
Maiya, who had been observing the situation in silence, suddenly brought out a shocking fact.
“A delegation from the Order Federation visited Machina.”
“…!!”
“I heard that Yehasulju himself came forward. “It’s unpleasant trash, but if a guy with a famous butt made a move, it wouldn’t be a bluff.”
What does it mean that Machina was found in the Federation, which is at war with the Church?
This means that another war, which existed only as a vague rumor, has begun to be presented as real evidence.
“Currently, the war between the Federation and the Church is taking place in the form of a war between the Master and the Apostle, expanding the front lines.”
The doctor also brought out the information he knew, as if adding to Maiya’s words.
“If the Federation asks Machina for help, there is a high possibility that magic engineering technology to attack the Apostles will be the focus.”
“The purpose of the Machine City is to kill the Second Apostles who massacred the Supreme Council, so the Federation will also use that as bait to extract as much technology as possible.”
“….”
Lennok remembered the 2nd Apostle who appeared immediately after subjugating the 10th Apostle Amrita at the Far East Branch of the Church and introduced himself as the second.
Considering the enormous presence felt at that time, maximum power was probably the highest priority within the church.
If a monster that could destroy the balance of power with its mere presence were to come forward, there is no way that the reaction and aftermath would not have been taken into consideration.
Just like now, even inside Bokmajeon, they were discussing his intentions and being on guard.
So why did he, who is said to be the most perfect apostle even within the church, attack Machina even at the risk of such a backlash?
After that, the meeting moved on to other areas after mentioning the situation of the Alliance, which was slightly losing ground with the Machina Supreme Council faction.
“Last time, I mentioned the first magic tower in Balkan. I don’t know if anyone remembers…”
Puppeteer Chevien began, rattling the mannequin.
“A crazy wizard in a huge city built a magic tower and started producing results. However, the aftermath is unusual….”
“It seems like you are talking about a common magic system.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man I had never seen before opened his mouth.
Hilea looked at the man in surprise at the words of the man who had been listening to the meeting without saying a word until now.
“Professor Raphael, do you know about fastness?”
“Rather than knowing fastness… I know a researcher belonging to that tower.”
A middle-aged man named Raphael hesitated and spoke.
“The public magic announced by Evan Bylan has become the most sensitive topic in academia. “Right now, Balkan is going to be noisy for weeks due to the existence of public magic.”
Professor belonging to academia. Is that someone who is also versed in theoretical magic?
While Lennok was remembering the name, the doctor spoke as if it had just occurred to him.
“I met him just before the presentation of my third paper. “I wanted to ask you something about public magic.”
“I’m serious!”
Raphael, with his eyes wide open, jumped up from his seat and looked at the doctor.
“What did he say about common magic? Did you hear why he published such a paper?”
“No, rather than just hearing about it… I checked it out.”
The doctor chuckled and wiggled his furball towards Raphael.
“It wasn’t a meaningful conversation worth telling here.”
“That…”
The doctor casually changed the subject to Raphael, who looked clearly disappointed.
“However, the fact that Lightning and Evan Bylan came into contact through the Magic Tower is very interesting… As a result, they filled in each other’s weak positions, creating an extraterritoriality that even the city council could not easily touch.”
“Oh right.”
After the Machina-related topic was over, Freyja, who had been looking at her fingernails with a bored expression, suddenly turned her head as if an idea occurred to her.
“Hey Deadrise. “If you think about it, you would have rather done it than touched the Magic Tower of Lightning last time.”
“….”
“What was it? “Didn’t you say you would send Feisha Grisburn to deal with it?”
Frey laughed knowingly at Damus who was silent.
“Seeing as how Magic Tower even announced its earnings, it seems like it ultimately failed. You guys are so funny. How could you even send a ghost and achieve nothing-”
“Paisha is dead.”
“…what?”
Freya asked back with a look of confusion.
Damus answered with a calm expression.
“I lost contact with Gyeonrei one-on-one, and then we lost contact. “It was already a few months ago.”
“….”
“To be honest, the conflict between the 4th Corps and Victor is not something the headquarters should be concerned about right now. “Since Captain Song Ha returned safely, there is no reason to discuss his critical condition.”
In the quiet conference room, Damus looked around and answered.
“Currently, what the main headquarters considers most dangerous is Fast’s actions themselves. I participated in this meeting to inform you of this fact.”
