The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 84

The Red Magic Tower’s pride, a secret arcane magic.

Infernal Blaze.

A magic that manipulates flames with a higher temperature than ordinary fire.

Those who master this magic can freely control blue flames, estimated to be around 1500℃.

“Are you just going to keep testing the waters?”

Dahlia asked, throwing a blue fireball at me.

A super-high-temperature fireball that burned even the surrounding air as it flew.

A blue sphere whose true name hasn’t even been revealed yet, thanks to the Red Magic Tower’s mystique.

I leaped away, landing about 10 meters outside its impact range.

Whirr, whirr, whirr-!

The burning blue sphere collided precisely where I had been standing.

Upon impact, the surrounding 10 meters transformed into a fiery hell.

It was a truly tremendous power.

‘…And this isn’t even her full power?’

The problem is that this isn’t Dahlia Salentia’s full strength.

If this woman went all out, it wouldn’t just be a small sphere flying at me; the entire blue flame billowing behind her would engulf me.

“Testing the waters twice is enough, isn’t it? I’m going to go all out from now on.”

The blue flames surrounding Dahlia pulsed again.

It was as if they were beating in time with Dahlia’s heartbeat.

“I wish you’d go a little easier on me.”

“You’re such a drama queen.”

The blue sphere had flown a total of two times so far.

In other words, I had two opportunities to observe Dahlia’s secret magic, Infernal Blaze.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t observe Dahlia’s magic formula.

The reason is simple.

The condition for me to observe a magic formula is to ‘directly see the center of the magic formula with my own eyes from within 4 meters.’

This action allows me to identify a fragment of the magic formula.

And if this action is repeated, and the structure of all the magic formulas is deciphered, I can use or interfere with that magic.

The problem is that the impact range of Infernal Blaze easily exceeds 10 meters.

Even such a small sphere burned a radius of 10 meters. How can I observe that magic directly with my eyes from within 4 meters?

Only someone with a death wish would do that.

‘She’s difficult in a different way than Kyle.’

Just like observing magic formulas, interference can only be used when you get close enough.

It’s hard to interfere with such a wide-range, high-power magic.

‘The best thing would be to block the magic directly with a shield and observe Dahlia’s magic formula from behind the shield, but….’

Unfortunately, that magic isn’t something that can be blocked with a shield.

In terms of power, fire attribute magic, which was already top-tier, has evolved even further, so my shield would melt in an instant.

“Are you really just going to keep running away? That’s so disappointing.”

Dahlia threw blue spheres at me in quick succession.

Three in total.

They flew at me, surrounding me.

‘Is the only escape route the sky?’

I quickly wrapped mana around my lower body and leaped high into the sky.

At the same time, I launched a Tempest Cutter at Dahlia.

A blade of wind imbued with mana just shy of the 5th Circle [A magic circle level, indicating a high level of mastery].

It flew towards Dahlia at an incredible speed.

“Hmm.”

Dahlia hummed, her eyes gleaming.

At the same time, the blue flames billowing around Dahlia concentrated at the front.

A wall of flames.

Even at a glance, it was a wall with a density and output that my Tempest Cutter couldn’t penetrate.

Then, I just wouldn’t penetrate it.

‘Refraction.’

I bent the trajectory of the Tempest Cutter.

The free manipulation of magic that the Vaitern style boasts.

The wind, imbued with my will, bent twice at right angles, avoiding the wall of flames and flying towards Dahlia’s flank.

“It won’t work.”

Did she predict that my Tempest Cutter would change its trajectory?

Dahlia moved the wall of flames.

Whirr, whirr, whirr!

The blade of wind collided with the wall of flames.

The blade of wind couldn’t penetrate the flames and turned into an air current, disappearing.

“That kind of unorthodox magic won’t work on me.”

“I know. I was just testing it out.”

Dahlia Salentia’s Infernal Blaze is a magic that moves pre-made blue flames as she pleases.

In other words, Dahlia has a similar level of magic manipulation as me, at least when it comes to blue flames.

‘I thought I might be able to break through with this level of trajectory change speed, but….’

It was blocked so easily.

“But are you really going to be this disappointing?”

Dahlia frowned, pouting her lips.

“When are you going to show me the magic you used against the Italian team, or the 6th Circle magic that surpasses it?”

“I’ll use it if I need to.”

“……Hmm. So, you don’t need to use it to beat me right now?”

“Right now?”

“That’s… kind of insulting, you know?”

Dahlia’s expression hardened.

It was a trivial provocation, but I didn’t expect it to work.

Just like the magic she wields, her personality is also like a flame.

“Then I’ll make it so you have to use it.”

The blue flames billowing behind Dahlia increased in size.

Their scale almost doubled.

Soon, those flames would all fly at me.

‘I have no choice.’

If possible, I wanted to win without using Resonance [A technique that amplifies magical power].

But the situation isn’t favorable.

Now is the time to use Resonance and go all out, even if it means revealing some information.

‘Resonance.’

I accelerated my circle, watching Dahlia’s blue flames gradually taking shape.

Sploosh, sploosh.

Water droplets began to ripple around me.

* * *

Dahlia Salentia was currently experiencing pure joy in real-time.

“Ahahaha!”

Dahlia’s laughter echoed loudly, piercing through the steam that filled the surroundings.

“They say water is the bane of fire, but you’re the first person to counter me this perfectly!”

The continuous clashes between the water attribute magic used by Shin Hayul and the fire attribute magic used by Dahlia.

The resulting massive amount of steam now covered the entire field.

“And… you’re still holding back, aren’t you?”

Dahlia’s eyes blazed.

A gaze burning with fighting spirit.

As if responding to that gaze, Dahlia’s blue flames spread in all directions.

They spread with the momentum to burn the entire field, as if the steam-induced vision block was useless against her.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle-!

The sound of water evaporating was heard again from one direction.

That must be where Shin Hayul is.

“There you are!”

Dahlia immediately fired magic in the direction the sound came from.

Flames flew, erasing the steam with their tremendous heat.

They flew towards Shin Hayul, who must be standing at the end of that steam fog.

However.

“……He’s not there?”

There was no one beyond the steam fog.

I clearly heard the sound from that direction.

Crack, crack, crack-!

At that moment, a loud thunderclap was heard from behind.

The unique sound of lightning attribute magic.

‘He was behind me!’

Dahlia immediately moved the flames behind her.

No matter what attribute the magic is, it can’t penetrate Dahlia’s blue flames.

That’s when all the flames were concentrated behind her.

“Is that so?”

“……!”

Shin Hayul thrust his face in front of Dahlia’s eyes.

‘When did he get here…!’

Just 3cm away.

Golden eyes pierced through Dahlia’s eyes.

A disturbing sensation, as if her own abyss was being looked into.

Before she could dwell on that unpleasant feeling, an alarm went off in her head.

Shin Hayul swung his fist, aiming for Dahlia’s face.

“Ugh!”

A very concise and swift swing.

Dahlia also hadn’t neglected her martial arts training, so she didn’t get hit cleanly.

But she didn’t completely avoid it either.

Shin Hayul’s fist grazed Dahlia’s cheek and hit her earlobe.

“A fist to a woman’s face… how rude…!”

Feeling a tingling pain in her cheek and ear, Dahlia exploded the flames around her.

Shin Hayul retreated, disappearing back into the steam.

A silent field.

Dahlia’s tension was indescribable due to the blocked vision caused by the thick steam.

‘This is fun.’

This tension. I don’t hate it.

Rather, I want to keep feeling it.

More, more, more.

The corners of Dahlia’s mouth slowly curled upwards.

The cheek that Shin Hayul’s fist grazed was tingling.

Even that sensation wasn’t unpleasant.

‘……Huh?’

Then, a strange sense of incongruity arose.

A feeling that something was missing.

Dahlia immediately grasped the identity of that incongruity.

Dahlia touched her right ear.

‘My in-ear is gone.’

The in-ear integrated with the radio, distributed for siege warfare.

Did it break when it grazed her earlobe a moment ago? Now that she noticed, the in-ear was gone from her ear.

She was momentarily flustered, but soon realized that the disappearance of the in-ear was meaningless.

‘After all, this match is decided by a 1:1 battle. I don’t need the in-ear.’

Even if a one-in-a-million situation occurs, the main force will handle it well. Dahlia’s trust was unwavering.

‘More importantly, it’s this right now.’

Shin Hayul.

A genius who surpasses that annoying Kyle Bentia.

Right now, I need to focus only on defeating him.

Dahlia cleared all extraneous thoughts and focused all her attention on the battle.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Time passed.

The sounds of magic clashing and people colliding echoed continuously.

‘He’s strong.’

It was clear to anyone that Dahlia was being pushed back.

‘The output of magic isn’t that much different. But I’m being completely outmatched in terms of magic utilization and strategy.’

Shin Hayul was only using magic at the level that he used to crush the Italian team alone in the past.

It was an output that exceeded the 5th Circle, but it was less than the 6th Circle.

It was exactly the same level of output as Dahlia’s Infernal Blaze.

Nevertheless, Dahlia hasn’t been able to launch a proper counterattack.

She was being overwhelmed in terms of utilization, strategy, and overall combat skills.

‘This is fun.’

Even in that overwhelming disadvantage, Dahlia was smiling.

It was partly because she was enjoying this battle, but that wasn’t the only reason.

‘As I thought, Shin Hayul isn’t a 6th Circle.’

The joy of getting accurate information about Shin Hayul’s achievements, which had been a constant question, was even greater.

‘If Shin Hayul was really a 6th Circle, there’s no way he wouldn’t have used 6th Circle magic by now.’

There was a possibility that he was hiding his 6th Circle magic until the end for strategic reasons, but it was unlikely.

‘If Shin Hayul was really a 6th Circle, he wouldn’t have to do such troublesome things; he could just crush me with overwhelming power.’

Therefore, Shin Hayul is either not a 6th Circle, or even if he is, there is a reason why he can’t freely use the power of the 6th Circle.

‘Or there are some restrictions on using 6th Circle magic.’

This is the conclusion.

Even if she loses this battle, it’s not a loss since she found out this information.

This is why Dahlia is currently happy.

“Maybe….”

Then, Shin Hayul’s voice was heard.

“You’re thinking that I might not be a 6th Circle, aren’t you?”

It was a cold voice, as if pouring cold water on Dahlia’s joy.

“Even in this situation, he’s not using 6th Circle magic. Shin Hayul is definitely not a 6th Circle. You seem to be thinking something like that.”

“…….”

Shin Hayul revealed himself from the steam.

“That’s a wrong assumption.”

“A wrong assumption?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, I’m not using 6th Circle magic because I don’t need to right now.”

Shin Hayul smiled leisurely.

“My goal is to collect your information, the information about Infernal Blaze. The longer we fight, the more information I’ll get. Why would I use 6th Circle magic to end the battle quickly?”

“……Nonsense. If you were really a 6th Circle, you wouldn’t need to gather information about my magic.”

As I said, he could just crush me with power.

The fact that he’s not doing that and is gathering information is proof that Shin Hayul is not a 6th Circle.

“It wouldn’t be necessary if this was an individual match.”

A strange light flickered in Shin Hayul’s eyes.

“But this is a team battle, isn’t it? I need to gather information in advance, thinking about when our team will fight you without me.”

Dahlia’s expression twisted.

“So, the Korean team can beat me without you?”

“If they have the information?”

“……That’s nonsense to the point of being art.”

Dahlia scoffed.

Shin Hayul’s words were all sophistry.

As I said, if Shin Hayul was really a 6th Circle, there would be no reason to do such troublesome things.

“If you really want to prove that you’re a 6th Circle, use 6th Circle magic right now.”

“I don’t really want to.”

Shin Hayul shrugged.

“There’s no need to. From my perspective, it’s beneficial just to see you guys worrying about it.”

“…….”

Dahlia’s brow furrowed deeply.

He deliberately dragged out the time to gather information about Infernal Blaze.

It was close to sophistry, but it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Dahlia’s mind became complicated in an instant.

“You often hear that you have a bad personality, don’t you?”

“No. I only hear that I’m like an angel?”

“……Seriously, nonsense to the end.”

Dahlia shook her head.

Shin Hayul made her head complicated again.

Looking at Dahlia’s complicated expression, Shin Hayul cheered inwardly.

‘Good.’

Shin Hayul’s goal of planting seeds of doubt in Dahlia’s mind had been successfully achieved.

Now, all that was left was to finish it off so that the seeds of doubt planted in Dahlia’s mind could sprout.

“Well, we’ll see if we fight more….”

Just as Dahlia was about to use magic again.

—Beep, beep, beeeeeep!

A whistle suddenly sounded.

“……The match-end whistle?”

Dahlia’s eyes widened.

—Match end! Winner, the Korean Obelisk Academy team! The siege battle is won by the Korean team!

The referee’s announcement of the end of the match.

“Defeat? Us? Why….”

Looking at Dahlia, who was bewildered by the sudden declaration of defeat, Shin Hayul tapped his right ear with his index finger.

“I’ll give you a piece of advice. In team battles like this, cherish your in-ear like it’s your own life.”

Shin Hayul smiled.

“For powerful forces like you and me, a communication breakdown can lead to defeat.”

“You… you were aiming for my in-ear from the start….”

Dahlia touched her still-hot cheek and earlobe with a bewildered expression.