Prohibitive Edict (24)
The dark cathedral where both the half-collapsed Temple of Anathema and the pouring landslide had disappeared.
The silent chapel filled with rows of lit candles, and wooden pews lined up neatly around it.
Amidst it all, a sudden scream echoed.
“There’s nothing!”
Bang!!
“It’s gone!!”
Bang bang!!
“I said it’s gone!!”
Ermong, who had been overturning the wooden pews of the chapel, howled.
“Aaaaargh! The cursed toad I got after rolling around like a dog for two days!!!”
“……Just give it up, Ermong.”
Soryu, who had been sitting with his head lowered weakly on a pew, replied.
The ring that had been on his finger had also vanished without a trace.
But unlike Ermong, Soryu’s expression—having lost the Ice Sigil—looked far calmer.
“The fact that Bolt managed to aim for and steal the relic in that situation is what’s absurd. You still can’t let it go.”
“Damn it, don’t act all detached. Are you trying to preserve royal dignity even in a situation like this?”
“Then what—if a black hole were about to drop right in front of you, do you think you’d even be able to think that far?”
Cold frost leaked from Soryu’s lips as he leaned against the chair with a pale expression.
Crack…!!
The chair and his body froze together in cold ice, parts of his body crumbling as if melting into frost.
It looked as though he was stuck to the pew, enduring the collapse of his own body somehow.
The overuse of his freezing-type bloodline ability to survive the battle against Bolt.
Now that the Ice Sigil had been taken, he was bearing the full backlash with his own body.
Furrowing his brows in pain from the cold gnawing at his entire body, Soryu spoke quietly.
“By the time we realized it after escaping, it meant we never had the right to possess that relic in the first place. For now, we should be satisfied that the Forbidden Armament has come into our hands.”
“No!! To properly use black magic, I absolutely needed that cute toad!”
“I don’t understand at all what’s cute about that ill-tempered toad filled with spite……”
Hairea shook their head beside Ermong, who clutched his cheeks and screamed.
“To me, it just looked ominous, like a curse would jump onto you at any moment. Have your eyes rotted from living too long?”
“Hairea, how can you say that? That viciousness that looks like it could bite its owner at any moment—that’s the charm!”
“…….”
It was hard to sympathize with the aesthetic sense of a dark mage who had lived stubbornly for centuries.
Letting out a sigh, Hairea adjusted their eyepatch and turned their gaze.
“Ugh… toad, toad…”
A madman crawling on the floor searching for a toad, Soryu catching his breath leaning against a pew.
Maya Renslit silently leaning against the back door of the chapel. The Blood Slave crouched beside the organ, muttering to himself.
The atmosphere felt worn down and exhausted, as if a massive storm had swept through.
That meant what had happened in the underground temple had been a heavy burden for everyone gathered here.
“My stomach hurts. What is this? After two days of suffering, we just ended up doing something good for that guy!”
[Even if your mouth is twisted, speak straight.]
At that moment, a cold voice rang out right behind Ermong.
The old cathedral of District 21. A shadowed figure in a robe stood at the center of the first-floor chapel with arms crossed.
[If it weren’t for me, you all would’ve died there.]
“……Victor.”
A faint gleam of an obsidian mask flickered beneath the hood, red light leaking from within.
Lennok stood surrounded by members of Pandemonium, lifting his chin.
[Struggling against a single mage and even considering how to escape—yet you just run your mouths.]
“…….”
[Since I solved your problem for you, shouldn’t I be the one receiving compensation instead?]
Srrrng…!!
As Lennok rolled up his sleeve, a glass-colored gauntlet revealed itself.
A soft resonance like the ringing of a bell spread, and a beautiful glassy glow lit the chapel.
The Forbidden Armament, which had been rampaging wildly and shaking space the entire time, was now eerily calm in his hand.
But the expressions of the others looking at it subtly hardened.
“Victor. I didn’t hear anything about you in this plan.”
Soryu, leaning tiredly against the pew, raised his gaze.
Though his face looked drained and pale, his eyes were cold.
“How did you learn about this operation and come here?”
[I received word from Hairea.]
Lennok replied leisurely, arms crossed.
[I heard there was something urgent to handle near Vulcan.]
“No. Hairea didn’t explain the plan to us in words.”
Soryu said coldly.
“After Sabrina fell into a coma, we’ve been avoiding language- or text-based communication for the time being. There’s no way you could’ve found that place from just that message.”
[…….]
“Where did the information leak from? Did you tail one of the members?”
At the same time as Anathema’s death, Hairea had devised a plan to retrieve the relic from his residence.
Members of Pandemonium who could move immediately were gathered to Vulcan.
Doctor prepared the necessary items and means for the temple raid.
But no one had heard that this trait-type sorcerer would participate in the operation.
It would be strange not to feel suspicion toward Victor, who appeared at the most critical moment and took only the important item.
Yet Lennok showed no disturbance at Soryu’s sharp questioning and let out a cold sneer.
With Victor’s identity and temperament, there were plenty of ways to brush off such interrogation.
His arrogant and self-righteous attitude made it easier to present emotional motives and reasons instead.
[As a manipulation sorcerer, it’s only natural for me to retrieve relics of related systems. It’s power that should’ve been mine from the start.]
“…….”
[I was simply moving based on information I obtained, intending to steal Anathema’s relic.]
Victor, smiling coldly behind the mask, stroked his left hand.
[I didn’t expect the operation Hairea mentioned to be this, though.]
“Hairea.”
“That part—him not knowing about the operation—isn’t a lie.”
Hairea removed the eyepatch and switched personality, answering Soryu.
“At least to my eyes, he doesn’t appear to be fabricating falsehoods.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Ermong, who had been rummaging the floor and found a snack box instead of a toad, asked.
Throwing a cookie into his mouth, the dark mage tilted his head.
“I’ve never heard that our nun can act as a lie detector.”
“This plan was devised and led entirely by me from the beginning.”
Hairea replied calmly.
“I’m not reading his mind—I’m checking the variability of the plan as it has progressed.”
“…….”
“I don’t know how the outcome will change, but I can detect whether the plan could have ‘changed’ if Victor hadn’t intervened.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Hairea, a dual personality with the talent of duality, could see both sides of all things simultaneously.
By observing both ‘success’ and ‘failure’ of the plan at once, they could read whether one side changed based on Lennok’s testimony.
Only after hearing the explanation did Ermong understand, making a dumbfounded face.
“……Isn’t that way more amazing than a lie detector?”
“It’s not an ability I can use anytime. To use it like this, I have to be fully aware of and lead the entire plan.”
Hairea glanced at Lennok, their expression turning complicated.
“And the variable must be something even I couldn’t have predicted.”
“…….”
“By the way, could you stop stuffing yourself with those snacks? My surface personality eats them one by one whenever she feels depressed. If they’re all gone, she’ll be very sad.”
“Huh? They’re better than expected—can’t you just buy more?”
“They’re a premium product Freya sent from Tokerfurs. Expensive aside, even if we order now, it’ll take at least half a month—”
“In short, Hairea’s ability isn’t meant to be used like this.”
Ignoring their sudden argument, Soryu spoke.
“In special circumstances like this, it can only confirm whether the other party is lying.”
[…….]
“If the plan didn’t leak, then who gave you the information? Who else knew about this Forbidden Armament?”
[Prince. You’re mistaken about something.]
Lennok leaned his head back and laughed.
[I’m not here to report my actions to you.]
“…….”
[Why should I tell you that? You couldn’t do anything until I got the artifact anyway.]
Click…!!
As he raised his left hand and slowly moved his fingers, the glass gauntlet flickered faintly.
Its radiant glow illuminated the dark chapel, distorting the surrounding space as if turning it into glass.
The other members stiffened, realizing Lennok was already freely handling the Forbidden Armament—
Clap!
And in an instant, Lennok dispelled the distortion and spoke.
[I know this is Anathema’s relic, but I don’t fully understand its origins or usage yet.]
“…….”
[I heard Doctor assisted. Bring me all the information he provided for this operation.]
“Victor. Doctor—”
Just as Hairea began to respond with tension, Maya, who had been leaning against the door with eyes closed, spoke.
“If you’ve worked with the doctor, you should remember.”
All eyes turned to her as she walked forward.
Standing in the center of the chapel, she faced Lennok with an expressionless face.
“He considers knowledge as currency and a unit of trade. A scholar who gives meaning to the act of exchanging information and imposes rules on himself.”
[…….]
“If you want information, he’ll demand information of equal value, just like during the settlement.”
She gestured at the glowing gauntlet Lennok wore.
“That artifact’s abilities or the amplification of manipulation techniques would suffice.”
[So you’re saying I should hand over information and secrets about my techniques to the doctor?]
Lennok turned sharply, his eyes flashing coldly.
[Wouldn’t it be more helpful to send him a corpse of an executor pierced by a mana spike instead?]
“That might be true.”
Maya nodded expressionlessly.
“That just shows how unreasonable your proposal is right now.”
Whoooom!!
The mana of Lennok and Maya, standing face to face, flared coldly.
A sharp killing intent that made it seem natural for them to cut each other down at any moment.
Crack, crack…!!
The wooden pews split, and the marble floor began to tear under the heated mana.
As the others instinctively raised their mana in response—
[Stop it.]
Whoosh!!
Lennok smirked, glancing at Maya’s trembling left hand.
[Fighting an executor with a ruined arm doesn’t sound very fun.]
“…….”
Even Lennok, who had mastered manipulation techniques, felt his soul shaken by the backlash when wearing the Forbidden Armament.
It was likely because the soul of the Ascendant’s bloodline used as its material rejected the wearer.
For Maya, who wasn’t a sorcerer, enduring even a moment of that backlash would have caused severe damage.
Though she didn’t show it outwardly, it wouldn’t be strange if her left arm had completely lost sensation.
[No matter what you say, I’m taking this artifact. You’re not going to complain now, are you?]
“There’s no disagreement about ownership. It wasn’t ours to begin with.”
Maya lifted her face.
“For now, it’s enough that the artifact has come into our possession.”
Ultimately, escaping from Bolt with the Forbidden Armament had been achieved by Victor’s own ability.
Regardless of Bolt’s future reaction, Victor taking the artifact was the inevitable outcome.
“It’s time. Glen’s airship will arrive soon.”
Maya glanced at the chapel clock.
“I’ll say the last thing and end this. It’s about the subjugation operation Deimus proposed.”
“…….”
At that moment, the sharp atmosphere turned into suffocating silence.
Ermong whistled and avoided eye contact, while Soryu gave a bitter smile with half his body melted.
Even the Blood Slave, who had been muttering to himself, fell silent, his blood-red eyes gleaming.
Most of those gathered here had just faced that mage and fled.
They had all realized just how monstrous he was.
“Facing Bolt in this operation was unexpected, but we also confirmed part of his strength.”
Maya looked around.
“I want to hear your impressions. At least before Deimus’s plan is formally devised.”
“I’m not sure…….”
Rare hesitation escaped Soryu, who was usually decisive.
Sitting on the chair, emitting cold air, he shook his head.
“I didn’t know he could handle ice magic to that extent. I heard he possessed multiple attributes, but he’s practically beyond being bound by any system.”
“…….”
“None of my abilities or techniques worked. Even if I had used royal relics, the result would’ve been the same.”
Though Soryu carried relics from the Kabahim royal treasury, he hadn’t used them against Bolt.
If he had brought out treasures like the [No.666 Binding Relic], they might’ve been stolen right before his eyes instead.
Just like the Ice Sigil he wore had been taken so easily.
“He’s on a different level even among level 8 mages. It wouldn’t be strange if he were already attempting Ascension…”
“No, more importantly, he’s not crazy yet.”
Ermong protested indignantly.
“He was more composed than any mage I’ve seen—who keeps spreading rumors that he’s lost his mind?”
“Ermong, the fact that a mage like that is there already isn’t normal.”
Hairea replied calmly.
“Don’t you understand why the plan failed? Even after subjugating an Apostle, instead of resting, he’s out searching for spoils—that alone makes him far beyond our expectations.”
[…….]
“On the surface he talks normally, but inside he’s probably already rotten.”
Hairea shrugged at Ermong’s groan.
“You know what happens to mages who reach that level.”
“……Haha.”
Ermong’s laughter dropped low.
Tilting his head back to hide his face, he spoke quietly.
“Now that I think about it, that’s not something I want to know.”
“This time we were lucky, but next time, the situation will be completely different.”
Maya absentmindedly stroked her left arm.
“Bolt’s true strength lies in output and martial ability far surpassing those of equal-level sorcerers. This time, due to timing and location, we were able to fight while limiting that output, but—”
“If we fight within the Tower’s domain, it’ll be a different story?”
Maya had been able to contend with Bolt over the Forbidden Armament because Lennok had restrained his use of high-level magic.
Most importantly, he hadn’t even used the conceptual lightning he reportedly used to subjugate Anathema.
Even after restricting a mage specialized in large-scale magic to this extent, this was the result.
If they fought in the Tower’s domain without such constraints, it wouldn’t be strange if thunder gods descended from all directions.
“Besides, he had Feysha Grisburn under his command. As you know, the Ghost Princess isn’t someone who bows to anyone.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“The moment a legion commander cooperates with him, there’s a high chance Deimus has another objective—”
[You’re dragging it out.]
Victor replied lazily.
[What are you trying to say?]
“……Even considering all circumstances, Bolt is a being dangerous enough to surpass all assumptions.”
Maya’s eyes gleamed.
“To even discuss victory, there must be harsh restrictions—limiting his spells or mana. At the very least, he’d need to be in a state where his mind isn’t sound.”
“…….”
“You’re not suggesting we wait for him to go insane, are you?”
“Well. Unless conditions like that are met……”
A faint bitter smile appeared on Maya’s lips.
“We might have to bring Fame himself and sit him in front of Bolt.”