Chapter 236 - Chapter 236

Chapter 236. Seizure (2)

Objects that go beyond the category of magical items, or that possess performance difficult to explain with magic, are called artifacts by the world.

The abilities of each artifact are all vastly different.

The necklace-type artifact Center of the Three Primary Colors owned by Verden, and the artificial artifact Compass of the Black Hour, are representative examples.

Broadly speaking, they belong to the same category called artifacts, but as you can see, their actual performance differs so much it is difficult even to compare.

However, ancient artifacts are the exception.

Performance, and everything else.

The legacy of the ancients clearly exists above ordinary artifacts. Among those ancient artifacts, the one that stood on a whole different level was the Demon King's Relic.

"..."

Verden slowly walked forward as if entranced.

Darkness began to gradually recede, and a lonely light filled his vision. Verden gazed endlessly at that light.

Then, unconsciously, he used .

───!

In an instant, magic power scattered. failed completely.

The light of Ainber flickered violently, as if warning him not to peek.

Taken aback by a reaction he had never seen before, Verden hesitated, when the Administrator whispered from within the shadows.

"Ainber is an engraved artifact. Unless it acknowledges you as its master, it will not allow you to touch it, or even gaze upon it. And if you dare to challenge it and fail to become its master, your mana circuits will suffer severe damage."

"So that's why you said you'd give it to me only after I had fully recovered."

"Indeed. Had you been in a gravely wounded state, you might have died. At your current level… even if you fail, with time and recuperation you would recover. It will take quite some time, though."

So there are undeniable risks.

But there is no need to be swayed by them.

No matter the risk, Verden's choice would remain the same. He would hand it over to no one. Not even to the Demon King himself.

"I will take this."

"There's no need to notify me. It is already yours."

Verden stretched out his arm.

As his right hand touched Ainber, a brilliant white radiance burst forth. The darkness filling the space was completely annihilated.

Fwaaaahhh!

Ainber gradually turned into light.

Its form vanished completely, and that light flowed along his hand into Verden. The unknown energy gathered in his heart.

Then, an explosive impact struck his body.

No pain.

This was the beginning of change.

From head to toe, waves of light shimmered.

Soon after, the solid form of Ainber enveloped his entire body. Tunic and trousers, leather vambraces and shoes, and a robe.

The splendid attire, white and gold interwoven, perfectly matched Verden's ash-gray hair and blue eyes.

Engraving.

Verden felt he had become one with Ainber.

The Administrator let out a hollow laugh.

"Truly… you succeed with absurd ease. Then again, considering you are insane enough to rival my true body, perhaps this result was only natural."

"How do I confirm its performance?"

"Focus on Ainber. Then it will naturally rise in your mind."

He immediately followed the Administrator's words.

Closing his eyes, directing his consciousness toward Ainber, hundreds of radiant particles floated up within his mind. Like , the meanings of those lights were clearly interpreted.

★ Ainber

⦁ Sanctuary

⦁ Revelation

⦁ Halo

Names he had never seen before.

He focused further, and confirmed the details of each ability.

'First, Sanctuary.'

Physical resistance (special)

Elemental resistance (special)

Immunity to poison

Immutable

Overwhelming resistance and immunity to toxins.

Along with that, body temperature maintenance, preservation of condition. And the function called Immutable, which included self-restoration. With this, ordinary sword aura or magic would not even scratch Verden's body.

It would not be an exaggeration to say he was surrounded by his own fortress.

'And second, Revelation.'

It heightened mental resistance and provided vision that could pierce through illusions.

The former wasn't much of a merit to Verden, but the latter was immensely useful. Until now, unless he touched it directly, he could not discern illusion magic.

'And lastly, Halo.'

When the wielder's speed reached a certain threshold, a halo of light emerged.

Up to three halos could stack. That light-enhanced speed surpassed with ease.

And when speed reached its utmost, all three halos could be expended to teleport within sight.

Literally becoming light itself.

"So this is the Demon King's artifact..."

It was on a whole different dimension compared to anything he had encountered.

Even more than the artificial artifact Second Circuit of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, used to achieve Defying the Heavens.

As he marveled purely in admiration, the Administrator approached.

"You seem very pleased with its performance. It's written plainly on your face. But Verden, Ainber's performance is not limited to that."

…Not limited?

Verden tilted his head.

"Ainber, which in the ancient tongue means Perfection. It is an evolving artifact, crafted for its master, precisely for a Transcendent."

An evolving artifact.

A term he had never heard before.

"If you reach Transcendence, Ainber will evolve to match you. Perfectly, as its name implies. As for what form that performance will take… that depends on the master, so I cannot presume to advise."

Verden stroked Ainber.

A smooth texture touched his fingertips. To think it would evolve even further from its current abilities… it was difficult to believe.

Ainber's abilities were already astonishing enough to defy belief.

Thus, a question arose.

"Why would the Demon King keep such a great artifact here?"

"Ainber's body was made from the hide and scales of a dragon slain by my true self, crafted here in this facility. The purpose was to reproduce 'the power of a dragon', but as you see, it failed. Moreover, its evolved performance also did not align with what my true self envisioned."

"So you mean Ainber is a failure?"

"In the sense that it did not fulfill its intended purpose, yes. Of course, that does not mean it is useless. As you can feel, it possesses extraordinary abilities."

However—

"Because of Ainber's engraving, it could not be left in the Demon Nation. If not acknowledged as master, the risk of damaged mana circuits was high. And on top of that, whether or not one was acknowledged by Ainber would inevitably cause strife within the Demon Nation. It would surely bring adverse effects. Thus, it was left here like a burden. In truth, no one even knew Ainber existed."

It was a highly pragmatic reason.

Honestly, for Verden, it was fortunate. Otherwise, he would never have been able to obtain Ainber.

An ancient artifact.

And not just that, but the Demon King's artifact had become his. Reminded of this once again, an indescribable ecstasy stirred his soul.

"In any case, it seems you are satisfied, which is good. Now, let us move on to the second matter."

"Ah, yes."

The first had been the artifact.

Now then, what would the second be?

Even as he tried to calm his heart, inwardly he could not help but expect.

"The second is not something material, like Ainber. It is a technique."

"A technique…?"

"I will formally impart to you."

Verden's eyes widened.

"Is that truly allowed? That is permitted only to the Demon King's bloodline…"

"You already used it before me, and now you say such a thing? Besides, even if I told you not to, would you not still use it?"

"…That is true."

To have learned and then try to conceal it—such a thing Verden would never do.

"You acknowledge it too easily, it is somewhat anticlimactic. In any case, there was no command from my true body forbidding me from passing on the technique. If possible I would also like to teach you spatial magic and other spells, but unfortunately I cannot. I possess only the calculations for magic, not the theories themselves."

The Administrator shrugged.

"As things are, some time remains before my magic fully dissipates. You should be able to master before then. If you do not wish to, that is your choice…"

Of course, he did not dislike it.

He could mimic portions of 's magical operation, but it required research and training to learn completely. Left to self-study, it would take no small amount of time.

But the Administrator, the Demon King's own avatar, would teach him directly. Verden was not foolish enough to cast away such an opportunity.

'And I need time to grow accustomed to my current realm.'

The newly reached Sixth Tier.

The tactical use of Infinite Mado. On top of that, there was also the Stellar Divine Magic.

By pioneering Infinite Mado, he had even gained clues toward improving the First Star, Meteor, which had until now ended in failure.

And also, toward the 'Third Star'.

'My return will be further delayed.'

It could not be helped.

Verden needed time in many ways, to consolidate his strength.

He bowed his head respectfully.

"I ask for your guidance, Administrator."

Thus began Verden's training.

And time flowed, not only within the facility, but in the outside world as well.

***

Slice.

A crescent-shaped dagger blade severed muscle and bone.

An assassin, with his neck half-severed, toppled to the ground, choking and sputtering until the sound ceased. Death came in an instant.

"To think you still have not found Asher. And you call yourselves Vintert?"

Vintert, head of the assassination division, Slay.

His cracked, rasping voice scraped against the eardrums like iron across a plate.

"Next."

Another assassin, terrified, hurried to report.

"L-Lines Calia has moved, leading a knight order and an airship. Circumstances suggest she intends to aid Perne."

"The encirclement should have been established. Did contact get through?"

"That, most likely one of Perne's informants took a wide detour and…"

Puk!

The dagger pierced beneath his jaw.

The assassin died instantly, collapsing in a spray of brain matter.

"Next."

"Upon investigating Perne's past movements, we found he had contacted a relic exploration group known as the Seekers. And one of the Seekers, a man named Hans Deikel, entered Perne's tavern, after which a mysterious explosion occurred."

"A relic exploration group, hm. Indeed, not the sort of people information brokers would usually meet. And?"

"I believe Asher and the Seekers contracted some kind of commission. Tracing the Seekers' movements, I confirmed testimony that they last procured supplies in a village near the Eastern Marshlands, and then vanished."

Slay narrowed his eyes.

The assassin quickly continued.

"My opinion is, the Seekers took on Asher's commission to explore ruins in the Eastern Marshlands, and an accident occurred. Asher, in turn, went into the marshlands to confirm it…"

"Ruins in a forbidden zone such as the Eastern Marshlands… well, at least that thought is somewhat reasonable."

Slay swung his dagger.

Blood and grease clinging to it fell away at once. He seemed satisfied with the report.

The assassin wetted his dry lips, relieved to have survived.

Slay sheathed the dagger at his waist.

His white-dyed eyes turned toward the assassins lined up before him.

"The civil war in the Kingdom nears its end. And yet, despite the delay beyond expectation, we have obtained no certain results."

Click.

His fangs ground together.

"We cannot continue to disappoint the King of the Underworld. Therefore, I command. Dehar, take one squad and head for the Eastern Marshlands. Discover Asher's whereabouts at all costs."

"Yes, Lord Slay."

"The rest will strike Calia with me. Asher was said to be acquainted with her, so if we secure her, she will be useful in many ways. Later, she can be used to threaten the Marquis of Esperanza. A foolish noblewoman leaving the Lines nest of her own accord—this is opportunity."

"If we secure Calia and Perne, may we handle their interrogation?"

"Lord Slay, my brother and I are skilled at interrogation."

Robat and Rocky.

The brothers who had been humiliated and defeated by Verden in the auction's bidding war. They had long awaited their chance for revenge.

"…If you break them, you die."

"We will keep that in mind."

Slay shifted his gaze away from Robat.

"Then, Keria."

"You called?"

"Prepare a small airship to track Calia's vessel."

***

To wield the Demon King's , two prerequisites were necessary.

One, the magic power of a Transcendent.

The other, the bloodline of the Demon King.

Verden possessed neither.

But his Mado, , was the aggregation of infinite possibilities.

Magic based on theory cannot be used without knowing the theory, but it could ignore such specific conditions.

In other words, if one understood the principle and possessed the minimum ability to manipulate magic power accordingly, one could use .

Breaking free of the tiers, freely manipulating elements, was a similar concept.

Multiple strands of magic power.

Fusion of magic power.

Beams of magic power.

Shockwaves of magic power.

Barriers of magic power.

Under the Administrator's supervision, Verden actively wielded Infinite Mado and displayed .

"Huuu…"

Breathing heavily, Verden gathered himself after expending full strength.

From the top of the Administrator's chamber stairs, the Administrator applauded with satisfaction.

"Your overall mastery of has reached a fine level. Even my true body would find little fault in this."

"Thanks to you, Administrator."

"I chose to teach you of my own will, but I will still accept your gratitude. Through me, your strength has advanced further."

The Administrator gazed at his own hand.

The magic maintaining his form was nearly exhausted, the time of dissolution approaching. Born as an clone, it was inevitable.

Yet no despair touched his face.

Clench.

Balling his fist, the Administrator smiled.

"Now, it is time for farewell."

The Magus of Infinity, Verden.

At last, the moment approached for him to return to the world.