The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 147

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-148

Even with my magic output increased by Resonance, it didn’t reach the level of a 6th Circle mage.

‘The aftereffects of the incantation have stopped my Circle of Truth.’

The magic output I can use right now is about that of a 5th Circle mage.

That’s the limit.

‘But it should be enough…’

I focused all my senses through my Mystic Eyes [a magical ability to perceive mana].

I analyzed the mana bubbling from the Tri-Colored Tiger’s mouth.

I factored in the Tri-Colored Tiger’s bio-mana, which I had observed during the earlier chase.

Finally, I input the formula for how the monster’s breath attacks are manifested.

‘Calculation… complete!’

The process was quick.

Kuoohhhhhh-!

The Tri-Colored Tiger roared, its breath reaching Kyle at the same time.

I immediately stretched out both hands and manipulated my mana.

‘Dispersion!’

My mana seeped directly into the Tri-Colored Tiger’s breath, disrupting its structure.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect.

Dispersion is a 3rd Circle master-level technique of the Vaitener style that breaks magic by using the calculation formula in reverse.

Since this Dispersion was activated based on an incomplete calculation, the magic couldn’t be 100% dispersed.

Pshhhhhh-!

Kwaaaang-!

“Kuhhh!”

The breath I failed to fully disperse hit me and Kyle directly.

We were thrown to the ground.

‘With this much power…!’

But it wasn’t powerful enough to be unbearable.

The dizzying pain, like I was about to lose consciousness, pressed down on my whole body, but it wasn’t enough to kill me.

I must have blocked about 90% of the power.

‘Now that I’ve blocked it, the offense and defense are reversed.’

With blurry vision, I looked at the Tri-Colored Tiger still floating in the air.

By nature, a breath attack is most vulnerable immediately after being released.

Kang Shin-woo seemed to know that as well.

Tadat!

He launched himself towards the free-falling Tri-Colored Tiger.

Vast mana was imbued in his fist.

I knew what kind of technique that punch was.

Kwaaaang!

‘Shinmu, Explosive Force.’ [A martial art technique that focuses on internal power]

A traditional martial art that explodes power from within. It accurately struck the Tri-Colored Tiger’s body.

Splash!

Blood gushed from the Tri-Colored Tiger’s mouth.

Its insides must have been a mess.

But it’s not enough yet.

The Tri-Colored Tiger won’t die from that.

It can’t die.

‘I need to finish it here…’

I dragged my trembling body up from the ground.

“…Rest, please.”

However, as if reading my mind.

Adela moved faster than I did.

She gathered the mana of the earth in both hands and flew towards the Tri-Colored Tiger.

Kaaang!

She struck the sword that was embedded in the Tri-Colored Tiger’s neck.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With continuous strikes, the sword was driven deeper and deeper.

And then.

Swoosh-!

She succeeded in separating the Tri-Colored Tiger’s neck from its body.

Thud!

The Tri-Colored Tiger collapsed on the ground, completely drained of strength.

“Please, just die this time!”

Dahlia and Sarah’s fire magic flew towards it.

As if proving Dahlia’s exhaustion, her fire magic was tinged with red.

She was too tired to even handle blue flames.

Flap, flappp!

The corpse burned, and the smell of cooking meat wafted through the air.

Various kinds of magic poured down like a rain of arrows.

Everyone had squeezed out the last of their strength to deliver the final blow.

“Please…”

Someone prayed.

Praying that the monster would die this time.

I, and everyone else, prayed.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds.

Silence fell.

Even as the severed head of the Tri-Colored Tiger burned and rolled on the ground, we remained tense and vigilant.

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

20 seconds.

About a minute passed.

Beyond the extinguished flames, the half-burned body and head of the Tri-Colored Tiger came into view.

Another minute passed.

“Is it really… over?”

Just as everyone began to be sure that the monster was no longer moving.

Twitch!

“… !”

“Shit!”

The monster’s body moved.

At the same time, the light returned to the eyes of the head that had lost its glow.

The Tri-Colored Tiger hadn’t died.

But the problem wasn’t that it hadn’t died.

“This, you crazy…”

“This is really not fair.”

The real problem was that a new body was forming around the monster’s head, and a new head was forming around its body.

In other words.

“…Two of them.”

The Tri-Colored Tiger had split into two.

And it wasn’t back to its previous state with divided colors, but remained pure white.

“This doesn’t make sense…”

Through my Mystic Eyes, I could see the mana of both monsters.

It wasn’t that the mana had been halved after splitting.

Both of them possessed the same amount of mana as when they were one.

In other words, with simple calculations, their combat power had doubled.

Considering the synergy the two would show, it was no exaggeration to say they had become three times stronger.

‘Even so, two of them is…’

We can’t win.

Moreover, we were all exhausted. Facing a formidable enemy that we might not even be able to defeat in perfect condition, in our current state?

The odds of winning were close to 0%.

“…Shit.”

Hee-yoon senior cursed with genuine sincerity.

Everyone’s expressions were dark.

Dark expressions filled with despair and fear.

Thump!

Thump!

The two Tri-Colored Tigers, having completed their restoration, took a step towards us.

As if sensing their victory, they smiled brightly.

Everyone was speechless.

They lowered their heads with expressions that showed they didn’t know what else to do in this situation.

“…Is this the end?”

Someone muttered.

“So futile…”

Due to the aftereffects of the breath from earlier, my mind was becoming blurry, and I couldn’t even properly distinguish who had spoken.

“Ah… I don’t want to die…”

Just as someone was muttering in a tearful voice.

“…You won’t die.”

A new voice was heard.

A voice so distinctive that even in my current messed-up state, I could clearly recognize it.

“I won’t let any of you die.”

A clear voice, as if carved with freshness.

That voice, which I had heard so many times that I was now used to it, seemed to hold an unknown anger today.

“Not a single one.”

Bubble, bubble.

Water droplets flew into the sky.

One, two, a hundred, a thousand.

An immense amount, too many to count, filled the sky.

“Soo-ah. Seok-hyun. Please take care of the students.”

Beyond my blurry vision, a beautiful flow of water could be seen.

I knew what kind of magic that was, what name it had.

‘This is Water Flow…’

The secret magic that the Blue Magic Tower boasts. Kim Kang-in’s magic.

Water Flow.

And the dreamlike scene that the magic created.

‘If Kim Kang-in is here, then…’

“Young Master! Get a hold of yourself! Young Master!”

Along with the voice of someone who seemed to be Seok-hyun.

‘I can… rest… easy…’

I lost consciousness.

* * *

The monster rampage that occurred throughout the United States was successfully suppressed.

—Due to the monster rampage that occurred today for about 3 hours, hundreds of thousands of victims have been reported.

No, it’s hard to say it was successfully suppressed.

Due to this incident, approximately 310,000 people died in 16 states, and the number of injured exceeded millions.

It was a massive number that could never be considered a successful suppression.

—Due to the monster rampage that occurred throughout the city, citizens are trembling with fear and anxiety.

Fear spread like an epidemic throughout the United States because of this.

It was only natural. Even in the states that prided themselves on being the safest cities in the world, hundreds of thousands of people had died.

Moreover, there had recently been attacks by wyverns, including the Black Bell Wyvern, in the United States, so this was, in a way, a predetermined course of events.

—As the citizens’ fear grows due to the unknown cause, the government has announced that it will thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident.

The cause of this incident was officially classified as ‘unknown’.

Of course, this was only what was not officially announced. In reality, people in high positions all knew that the cause of this incident was the ‘Black Magic King’.

The reason they didn’t reveal this fact was because the higher-ups decided that they couldn’t further increase the fear of the Black Magic Tower.

And that was understandable. How could they reveal it?

Just the appearance of the Black Magic Tower’s master, the Black Magic King, had caused the surrounding monsters to go on a rampage and even become stronger.

Even Sophia Anescheff was there.

Even though the world’s greatest mage had stepped in, hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of injuries had occurred.

There was no way they could publicly reveal such a fact.

Therefore, the US government and the International Counter-Terrorism Headquarters had no choice but to conceal this information and publicly announce the cause of the monster rampage as ‘unknown’.

—Those who have been affected by this incident will receive support from the national level…

As much as they concealed that story, they didn’t mention a single word about the transfer of ‘The Fist’ [a powerful individual or organization].

They concealed everything, from the death of The Fist to the appearance of the Black Magic King.

To avoid suspicion, they talked about compensation and follow-up measures to divert people’s attention.

“Tsk.”

Tkisch clicked his tongue as if he found it ridiculous while watching the news.

‘As expected, there’s no mention of The Fist or the Black Magic King. Disgusting bastards.’

The way they were concealing the incident to their liking was truly disgusting.

Such an absurd world. It would be nice if it would just collapse.

‘Thinking about it again, it’s a shame. If Sophia Anescheff had died, they would have had no choice but to reveal it. If that had happened, the Black Magic Tower’s power would have spread throughout the world.’

The US government and the World Counter-Terrorism Headquarters had excellent control over the media, but they weren’t omnipotent.

If Sophia Anescheff had died in this battle, this incident would have been widely publicized.

That would have been quite a sight. It’s a shame.

‘…Why did the Black Magic King spare Sophia?’

Tkisch repeated the question that had been bothering him since the end of the incident.

Why didn’t the Black Magic King kill Sophia?

‘If he had been determined to kill Sophia from the beginning, he could have dealt with The Fist much faster. No, not just The Fist, but all the other Tower Masters could have been captured and dealt with.’

But the Black Magic King had chosen the difficult path, leaving the easy one behind.

He had deliberately chosen to spare Sophia, dragging out the battle.

The handling of The Fist was delayed, and even the most powerful threat was left behind.

What was the reason for making such a choice?

It was something that Tkisch couldn’t understand with his common sense.

“Why…”

Just as Tkisch was muttering his question out loud.

Thump!

The air in the room suddenly changed.

“Is it so questionable that I didn’t kill Sophia Anescheff?”

“… !”

Darkness flickered before his eyes, and the Black Magic King appeared.

There was no warning.

In just the blink of an eye, the empty space was filled with darkness.

“No, sir!”

Tkisch quickly turned off the hologram transmission mode and knelt down.

“There’s no way someone like me would question the Black Magic King’s judgment…”

The Black Magic King cut off Tkisch’s words.

“It is not a sin to question.”

With his words, the surrounding darkness materialized, forming the shape of a chair.

A dark and noble throne.

The Black Magic King sat on the throne and crossed his legs.

“How could a mere human know the will of a god? It is only natural that you cannot understand. I understand everything.”

Arrogant words that called himself a god.

“I will ask again. Are you curious as to why I spared Sophia Anescheff?”

From Tkisch’s perspective, it could have sounded unpleasant, but Tkisch didn’t seem to be offended at all.

“Yes.”

He seemed rather pleased.

“I am curious.”

He bowed his head as if worshiping his god.

“If it’s not rude, could you share the Black Magic King’s wisdom with me, who is lacking?”

As if waiting for the voice of a god, in a reverent posture.

Tkisch simply waited and waited for the Black Magic King’s words.

“Very well.”

The Black Magic King smiled slightly, as if he was pleased, and answered.

“The reason I spared Sophia Anescheff. It is because Sophia Anescheff must die by a curse.”

The Black Magic King twisted the corners of his mouth as he recalled the time he fought Sophia Anescheff two hours ago.

“That is how Sophia Anescheff will come into my hands.”

The Black Magic King’s eyes, peeking out from the darkness, gleamed with greed.

* * *

After losing consciousness at the open raid arena.

“…?”

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a pure white ceiling, state-of-the-art medical equipment, and the face of an unexpected person.

“Ah. You’re awake.”

No, it’s lukewarm to call it an unexpected face.

“…Brother?”

The face of an enemy.

Or perhaps, it should be described as a hateful face that I never wanted to see again.

“I was so worried.”

Shin Ji-han.

“You were asleep for two whole days, you know?”

“…”

He wore an expression that showed he was worried about the world.

It was such a perfect performance that even I, who knew Shin Ji-han’s true colors, was almost fooled.

“Ha-yul?”

Shin Ji-han looked at me with an even more worried expression.

“Se-ah. Ha-yul doesn’t look well. Call the nurse…”

Shin Ji-han told Se-ah, who was quietly sitting next to him, to call a nurse.

“I’m fine.”

I cut off Shin Ji-han’s words.

“It’s just that, I’m very surprised that you and my sister are here…”

Why were Shin Ji-han and Shin Se-ah in the United States?

I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.

“We came here for work. And then, we heard that you were injured, so we came right away.”

“…”

There was work in the United States at this timing? That was a very sincere statement.

“But you’re really lucky. You woke up just when we arrived.”

Shin Ji-han smiled brightly.

“I guess I am lucky.”

It was a very refreshing smile, but.

“…Yes.”

In my eyes, it only looked like the form of a monster.