Episode 862 Rapid Progress (8)
As a powerful wave sweeps past, the inhabitants of Arcadium stagger, and the specters of knowledge filling the landfill fall silent.
Verden narrowed his eyebrows as he figured out the cause of the binge drinking.
‘magic.’
No doubt about it.
I do not know which lineage it is, but a powerful spell was activated somewhere here. It is not a force that can be easily dismissed.Judging by my intuition, the caster must be at least at the pinnacle, or at a level equivalent to that.
Is a transcendent being of the magical world here?
If that is the case, and unless she is an unofficial transcendent being who has not revealed herself to the world, the candidates are narrowed down to just one.For as far as Verden knows, she is the only transcendent being deeply connected to the sea.
A human figure flies through the distant darkness.
Kwaaaaaaaang───!
Someone who crashed right in the center of the Knowledge Landfill manipulated the ocean currents. As the sediment floating on the water scattered in all directions, the wizard’s identity was revealed.
Black Sea, Thearel.
Tearel, gazing at the throbbing condition of her arm, sensed the countless eyes around her. The specters of knowledge stared blankly at her.
“Lee Hyung-jong?”
Aaaaaaaah!
The specters let out terrible screams and rushed at Tearel in unison. It was a reaction even greater than when he had tried to chew Ruzak alive.
Knowledge is what dwells in existence.
Therefore, powerful and noble beings are bound to possess vast and profound knowledge. The specters fearlessly bared their fangs toward the transcendent being.It was the instinct of those who had lost their knowledge and become mindless beasts.
Armare
A vortex formed around Tearel and soon reversed its rotation, spreading out. The murderous flow tore apart and crushed a significant number of the Specters of Knowledge.
However, the shattered specters did not die but became one with the collapsed body fragments again, regaining their original pitch-black forms.
Its vitality is weak. But it doesn’t die even if half its body is ruptured. What kind of mutant is it?
To Thearel, these pitch-black clay-like monsters seemed to possess a certain illegibility.
It wasn’t particularly shocking.
This is because some of the heteromorphic species possess supernatural abilities that cannot be logically explained. It is a fact I have experienced countless times while active as an adventurer.Furthermore, if such heteromorphic species are eliminated without leaving even a trace of cells, most of them perish.
The master of the sea is right in front of you.
There is no more time to spare for the insignificant few who are merely numerous. Her transcendent stature encroached upon the Black Sea.
Crackle crackle!
Eight streams of lightning surged in and struck the Specter of Knowledge rushing toward Tearel.
The blue light fades.
The specters of knowledge, having restored their severely burned bodies, turned their heads toward the direction from which the lightning had come, then recoiled and retreated.
Tearel’s gaze also turned in the same direction as theirs.
“……? Be.”“Don’t say your name. Just come up for now.”
Verden briefly gestured with his chin for him to come over. His pure magical power and violent presence were identical to what had been felt at the General Assembly of the Magic World and the World Conference.There was no room for doubt.Judging the situation by his senses, Tearel rode the current of the water and landed on the cliff.
Verden, Alpha, and Beta were reflected all at once in the dark, deep blue eyes.
“Why are you guys in the deep sea…….”
His mind, which had been fully focused on the Master of the Sea, returned to its proper place. Only then did Tearel realize the massive Arcadium and the strange environment surrounding it.
“Where is this?”
{Welcome to Arcadium.}
The host welcomed Tearel with his hands clasped behind his back like a wise old man. He was towering, well over 2 meters tall. The tentacles on his pale octopus head twitched.
“Master of the Sea.”“Wait.”
Tearel’s unique magic was cast before Verden could stop it.
Cano Marensis
Whoooooo!
Sound waves that ruptured the body undulated using the sea as a medium. The host spread out their long fingers toward the magic approaching head-on. Theartificially frozen seawater lost its function as a medium. Consequently, some of the waves vanished, while others were reflected.
Tearel swung his right arm to trap the reflected magic within a sphere of the sea, then compressed it and recovered the magical power contained inside.
Talk.
Alpha, having leaped from Verden, swam and landed on Tearel’s shoulder. The environment here is made of water, not air.
[Pause. In conversation. Not in combat.]
“conversation?”
Tearel stared directly at the host.As expected, it was not a delusion.The Master of the Sea who had blown her all the way here and the pale octopus-headed mutant were connected. Surely the former must be the main body.
You shouldn’t be talking to things like that.
[admit.]
You shouldn’t admit it; you should stop them.
Verden personally stopped Tearel. The two recognized each other again. Just in case, he checked one more time, but it was true.
“How on earth did I get here?”
Tearel answered.
“By swimming.”
Even considering it is the Black Sea, is it really possible to swim to Arkadium? It would be nearly impossible to pinpoint this location in such a vast ocean.
What on earth gave him the confidence to personally come all the way to the deepest part of the deep sea?And of all times, at this moment.
‘Anyway, according to Tearel… … I suppose this confirms that Arcadium isn’t in a different three-dimensional space like Libereas.’
Verden stored new information about Arcadium in a corner of his memory.
Thearel asked.
“So, when are you going to explain?”“That is…”
{Woman of the Coastal City.}
The host walked leisurely and stood facing Thearel. Upon hearing his words, she looked straight up at the host.
{The fluttering of a butterfly’s wings is truly astonishing. The desperate struggle of a wizard with power less than that of an insect has mercilessly twisted the causality of this world. Though the day you came to Arcadium was set for the distant future, it is as if you have set foot in my domain at this very moment.}
“What are you talking about?”
I am the very fear of the sea you were looking for.
The host asserted.
I am your ideal.
Tearel silently endured his gaze without being surprised or flustered,without even blinking an eye.
{If this is the ‘transcendence’ that has bound you, then you ought to strike me down. However, setting aside whether that is possible, the timing is not right. The Banquet of Knowledge, attended by the fourth guest of honor, is fast approaching.}
The host flicked his finger. The merman VIP who had tried to kill Luzak glided in, holding an empty glass.
Whoosh.
She cut her wrist with a luxurious knife of unknown era. The scent of blood brushed past her nose.Strangely, the blood did not mix with the seawater but flowed slowly down to fill the glass.
“Ooh-huh, the thirteenth distinguished guest of the Arkadium willingly offers his knowledge.”
The host continued speaking as he was handed the glass containing blood.
Still, there is no need to worry. I have no intention of kicking you out just because you are an uninvited guest. Your intellectual level may be a bit low, but that doesn’t mean you are completely unqualified.
Tearel tilted his head.
Are you saying I’m stupid?
I invite you to Arcadium as the nineteenth distinguished guest. Hear the details from Asher later.
The host drank the mermaid guest’s blood. He held it in his mouth and savored it deeply. Then, he held out the glass and offered the little blood remaining to Verden.
Naturally, Verden refused.
Individual picky eating is a matter of taste and should be respected. However, should even refusing to eat at a banquet be respected?
The host finished emptying the glass. The mermaid guest blushed as she took the empty glass. Her gaze toward the host was passionate.
I will formally contact you before hosting the Arcadium. Rest assured that an unpleasant situation like today’s will not occur again.
The host returns to the mansion.
Is that all the explanation?
The situation was already tight. However, with the number of VIPs increasing unexpectedly, I had no choice but to hurry the preparations as the host. Another intellectual could sufficiently handle the guidance regarding the Arcadium procedures.
Kuooooh───
Suddenly, the deep sea flashed, and unidentified shadows stretched by the light enveloped the Arcadium. A chill ran down their spines.Verden, Alpha, Beta, and Tearel all turned around, one after another.
A being larger than a metropolis was watching them from a great distance.Slowly swaying its tentacles…
I will give you a special gift.
The host stopped next to Ruzak, who had lost his arm, and turned halfway.
There are 26 days left until the annular solar eclipse.
“……!”
At the same time, the [Gring Arcanum] in Verden’s arms emerged on its own. The bookshelf swung open, revealing a passageway leading to another dimension.Just as when Verden and his party arrived at Arcadium, darkness engulfed them.
An intellectual from the continent disappeared into the deep sea.
In the war led by ‘you’ and Oldark, life is a sacrifice, death is a means, and the soul is a tool.
The host looked at the place where Verden had disappeared with intellectual curiosity.
{Not only are you incomplete, but you stubbornly choose your means and methods; I will watch with interest to see how you reach the truth.}
* * *
As soon as the forced spatial displacement caused by the World Forbidden Book ended, Verden surveyed his surroundings. The space deep within the Black Hour Grand Hall was reflected in his eyes.He had returned to the place where he had tested the reaction of the [Gring Arcanum] along with Alpha and Beta.
Drip… … drip… … .
My whole body was soaked, probably because I had just come from the deep sea. But right now, such trivial things were not a problem.
The number of people in the party increased.
“Where is this place again?”
Tearel lightly tapped the wall of the grand hall and asked nonchalantly. And in the middle of the room sat a familiar figure.
The sixteenth distinguished guest, Luzak.
Luzak rolled his curious eyes around without showing any signs of panic.The host’s words crossed Verden’s mind.
───That is not the case. This is merely the price for the offense committed against the guest of honor. Reparations for you will be carried out after Luzak’s punishment. With Luzak’s property.
The situation was already tight to begin with. However, with the number of VIPs increasing unexpectedly, I had no choice but to hurry the preparations as the host. Another intellectual could sufficiently handle the guidance regarding the Arcadium procedures.
Judging by the circumstances… it seemed the Host had handed the existence of Luzak over to Verden. Luzak was aware of this.
Luzak, meeting the blue eyes, bowed his head while sitting on the ground.
“I just received notification from the host to attend to the fourth guest until the Arcadium opens. It may be for a short time, but I ask for your cooperation. However, before that, there is one earnest request I must make to the guest.”“What is it?”“Do you happen to have any water?”
Luzak is a resident of Arkadium. His body is adapted to the sea, not the land. It is structured in such a way that he cannot survive without water.
Flap flap.
Luzak buried his head in the ground and squirmed like a fish out of water. Verden hurriedly wrapped his body in water.
It was then.
Verden sensed Adrian’s presence and opened the secret room of the Great Hall.
“You happened to be here. I have something to deliver to my lord…….”
Adrian paused when he saw Thearel and some bizarre, unknown creature.
“What is the situation?”“I will explain later. What is your purpose?”
Since there were outsiders present, Adrian only conveyed the official matters for now.
An invitation has arrived from the Akhenad Magic Kingdom.
* * *
Since the power source of the magic tower is perfect, there is no very strict security.
That concept did not change significantly even after the power source runaway incident at the Bohemian Magic Tower.
The fact that the Dark Moon, which had infiltrated the power room of the Diamun Tower during the past war between the Bohemian Tower and the Black Hour, left the power source unattended and departed served as a significant basis for this.
[Done!]
Thanks to this, Aerodon was able to bypass the engine room’s security without any dangerous obstacles.
Kiiiiing.
The last security door opens.
A space filled with pure magical power.
Aerodon took a long, deep breath as he faced the dazzling blue light source right in front of him. He was indeed nervous. After all, this was the first time the theory and reason why Oldark had created this were being revealed.
[Alright, shall we check it now?]
Aerodon let out a low laugh and thrust its dragon claws into the power source without hesitation.Moving little by little to dig through the interior, it activated the Sky Dragon’s abilities to the maximum and struggled to grasp the essence of the power source.
How much time has passed?
Aerodon’s face turned pale as it finally approached the source of the power.
[……uh?]
Aerodon began to tremble.
[Uh, uh… … .]
I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I was so flustered that I couldn’t put it into words. The Aerodon, its pupils trembling violently, was terrified.
[Oldark, you crazy lunatic──]
Bang.
Something emerged from the power source and grabbed Aerodon’s neck. It was a hand. A human shadow fell before the eyes of the Sky Dragon, which had been subdued in an instant.
+Shh+
Oldark forced silence.
