Chapter 227
Chapter 227
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 227
Chapter Title: Transcendent Magic
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Transcendent magic.
A spell name that looked dangerous at a glance.
Leyzon hurriedly asked about it.
"What's transcendent magic?"
"You know that skill ranks max out at EX, right?"
Of course he did.
It was the prior stage of the skill he wielded: Auto-Evolving Undead Creation [?EX].
"EX-rank skills are rare enough, but there's a stage beyond even that. The beasts of our land call that realm transcendent magic."
Leyzon's eyes slowly widened.
He had a hunch.
'No way, transcendent magic is...'
Auto-Evolving Undead Creation [?EX].
He'd vaguely assumed it was just a display glitch.
But the truth was different.
'This was the realm of transcendent magic all along.'
Suddenly, the undeads' evolutions all made perfect sense.
Evolutions that shattered balance beyond any doubt.
Only possible through transcendent magic.
He'd been wielding transcendent magic all unknowingly.
"Transcendent magic is higher-dimensional even than a prophet's oracle. It's magic approaching the transcendent beings themselves.
The Thousand-Year Mage wields such power. Now do you grasp how dangerous he is?"
He was right.
Leyzon now understood just how staggering the skill he'd been using truly was.
'This is the real reason I could take down Ossuary.'
The undead creation skill that had briefly turned even a transcendent being into one of his minions.
Leyzon gained a fresh appreciation for its value.
And with it, how perilous the Thousand-Year Mage really was, just as Garjun had said.
His own Auto-Evolving Undead Creation was already balance-breaking on its face.
If that mage commanded similar arts... well, the outcome was obvious.
'Way more dangerous than I thought.'
The Thousand-Year Mage.
Now Leyzon understood why he was an object of dread everywhere.
'And he's on the imperial side.'
Not a pleasant thought.
Since Leyzon opposed the empire, a clash was inevitable someday.
'Gotta keep pushing to get stronger without end.'
He was strong enough to crush Ossuary now, but he still had a long way to go.
"As for the Blue Sparrow Knight Captain, there's not much special to note."
Garjun swung back to the main topic, mentioning the Blue Sparrow Knights.
"One thing's certain: her soul wasn't there. I checked further afterward, and there wasn't a trace. She's alive."
Garjun had reached the same conclusion: she lived.
"...Garjun, any chance she got possessed by something outside the walls?"
"You can rest assured."
Leyzon clicked his tongue.
The Sword Saint's lover was tangled in a real headache, as expected.
"Do you know what possessed her?"
Just in case, he asked. Garjun slowly rubbed his chin.
"There's a prophet who wanders by swapping bodies. The instant he enters one, it becomes his puppet for life."
Prophet.
Leyzon's eyes narrowed at the mention of a transcendent being's devotee.
"If that bastard really slipped into the empire..."
Garjun slowly turned to face him.
"His ultimate target is..."
His hand pointed straight down at the floor.
The transcendent being's corpse.
Just like Ossuary, he was surely after it too.
Flash—
Something hit Leyzon's mind at the same time.
He swallowed hard.
"...Garjun, then there's a chance that prophet infiltrated the imperial family?"
The imperial family was scheming a grand resurgence using the transcendent corpse.
What if that prophet knew about it?
The recent turmoil shaking the imperial court.
Coincidence? Really?
"You can rest assured."
To hide a tree, plant it in the forest.
To hide a man, stick him among men.
The darkest spot was right under the lamp all along.
'The imperial family.'
Blue Sparrow Knight Captain, Karis.
Her location was finally clear.
Leyzon also recalled what Garjun and Rockroden had said.
Other prophets would stir once Ossuary fell.
"Hah, what a mess."
Prophets who'd kept low because of Ossuary.
Now it was prime time for that one to go wild.
Fixed one problem, spawned another.
But he couldn't afford despair.
The creeping Ossuary had to be crushed no matter what.
Left alive, it would've flipped the empire using the transcendent corpse.
'In a way, I've bought us time.'
Leyzon eased his tense expression.
Prophets weren't infinite.
Keep smashing them down, and their numbers would dwindle eventually.
'Most importantly, it'll etch Abyss as a nightmare for them.'
Prophets who couldn't infiltrate the empire thanks to Ossuary.
Down Ossuary, then the prophets—Abyss would become their terror.
This prophet would serve as a stark warning.
"Looks like you're planning to make contact with the devil."
Devil.
Leyzon's head snapped up at the word.
He'd heard it from Gray Mage Tower Lord Dexter too.
"What the hell is this devil anyway?"
"Too grand for a mere 'he.' Think of it as a phenomenon.
I don't know the details, but it's definitely squeezing transcendent beings' essence to the extreme."
That was the source of the Devil's Fruit they'd extracted.
The prophet was gunning for that devil hidden in the imperial family.
Leyzon clicked his tongue.
"So, you know that prophet's name?"
Like with Creeping Ossuary, it had to have some attached title.
Garjun nodded at the question.
"Puppet Troupe Leader of Greed."
He'd felt it back with Ossuary, but these prophets' epithets were all ridiculously wordy.
Something crisp like Abyss would've been nicer.
By now, Leyzon was thoroughly used to it.
'Gotta clue in the Sword Saint.'
The Sword Saint was still hunting for the Blue Sparrow Knight Captain.
With this lead, he'd rampage even harder in the imperial family.
Plus, it opened chances to deploy the Night Crows he'd just acquired more aggressively.
'After the emperor vanished, nobles bloating their power that fast—definitely that guy's scheme.'
A schemer slinking in the shadows.
Had to be embedded in one of the major noble blocs.
Time to root him out.
Even more reason to seize control of the imperial family.
The Night Crow unit would need to pull extra weight ahead.
"Thanks. You've filled in a ton for me."
Finding Garjun had been pure fortune.
"Not just me. You're the one—Abyss—who nailed the info's crux."
"Exactly! It's all the puzzle pieces of intel Leyzon's gathered through nonstop hard work finally clicking together!"
Syria popped out at Garjun's praise, staunchly defending him.
She was spot on.
This convergence of intel was all payoff from Leyzon's past efforts.
Every scrap he'd meticulously collected led straight here.
Leyzon smiled at Syria's upbeat echo of his own mindset.
He reached out and playfully tousled her hair.
Syria giggled in delight.
"You sure know how to get along with the undead."
Garjun eyed the scene with clear approval.
The tighter your bonds with intelligent undead, the better the synergy.
Leyzon pulled it off on pure instinct.
"No wonder fellow necromancers rave about Abyss's undead."
Leyzon's undead boasted loyalty that even stunned Garjun.
The fruit of his everyday demeanor.
Leyzon felt it keenly himself.
'And the real Leyzon was the same way.'
The original had cherished his undead just like this.
Carrying over to now, forging their unbreakable ties.
"So, that leaves your second and final question."
Garjun had answered every query with utmost sincerity thus far.
Leyzon hoped this one would prove just as useful.
"It's about the Gravekeeper. I want to know where he is."
Garjun was same-generation kin to the Landkeeper, one of the land's beasts.
He had to know something on this front.
"Gravekeeper, huh. Been ages since I last heard that name."
Unfortunately, Garjun had little to offer this time.
"Last I saw him was about a century back. Ran into him by chance while he was guarding a sealed dungeon. That was it."
A hundred years ago.
Ancient history.
Leyzon smacked his lips in disappointment.
Looked like he'd have to track the Gravekeeper through the Landkeeper after all.
No big deal.
The earlier intel was plenty valuable on its own.
With his plate already overflowing, Leyzon refused to mope.
Instead, he resolved on one final pitch.
"Garjun, right now I'm rallying necromancers to Sahā Village."
He'd recently summoned even the Gray Mage Tower Lord there.
Necromancer forces were coalescing around it.
That faction would only swell from here.
Leyzon eyed the distant horizon.
And Garjun would prove a massive asset to that future.
A necromancer born of the land's beasts.
His primal magic would surely pioneer fresh frontiers for them all.
"Most of all, there's someone in Sahā Village I'd love to introduce you to."
One whose necromantic talent knew no bounds.
Piran, now one of Leyzon's undead.
Piran was still diligently mastering necromantic arts nonstop.
He'd no doubt pick up Garjun's primal magic too.
"Sadly, in this state, I can't hole up anywhere."
Garjun had burned through power ever since becoming undead.
Even Leyzon's invite was out of reach for now.
"But I'll drop by whenever I catch a breather. Gotta stay looped on your progress anyway."
No flat refusal.
That was good enough for Leyzon.
"Garjun, if that form ever wears you down, just say the word someday."
As parting loomed, Leyzon flashed a sly grin.
"I'll turn you into one of my undead."
He'd preserved Piran's soul that way already.
Garjun wouldn't be impossible.
Garjun let out a dry chuckle.
"To pull that off, hit at least my level first."
Leyzon blinked.
Garjun's power clocked around 19 Corruption, by his guess.
As a fellow undead, he could ballpark it.
Which let him spot the misunderstanding.
"Garjun, I can undead you right now."
Doubt flickered in Garjun's eyes.
To prove it, Leyzon led him out of the village.
Then promptly summoned Syria and Iden.
Undead Fusion
Syria Nosferatu · Iden Yfera
Leyzon triggered Undead Fusion, transforming on the spot.
Garjun's jaw dropped wide open.
This was utterly unforeseen.
"D-Do it?"
The undead life of forever hitching to fresh corpses.
Needless to say, it wasn't easy.
Leyzon asked, and Garjun fell silent for a beat.
Then he bowed his head.
"Ahem... yeah, please."
The former Gray Mage Tower Lord had become undead.