The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 158

Deep within my sister’s body.

As Sophia had said, a deep layer that even her jewel eyes couldn’t see into.

There, writhing black mana, as if boasting of its corruption, was surging.

Just looking at this, it would seem my sister is the enemy.

Having corrupted mana in one’s body is like evidence of heresy.

However.

‘Something’s off.’

I’ve encountered numerous black mages, including Leng Smith, so far.

I’ve directly faced a cadre called Tkish, and even indirectly observed the mana of the Black Magic King.

‘This sensation…’

That’s why I could sense the strangeness.

The corrupted mana within my sister’s body seemed to be floating separately.

To put it in a metaphor, it was like a swallowed pill still inside its capsule in the body.

The corrupted mana was merely dormant within her body, not yet affecting my sister’s physical state.

“Hayul, are you listening?”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

I gave a casual reply to my sister Se-ah, who was still talking, and focused all my attention on internal observation.

Let’s go a little deeper into the abyss.

A little deeper, even deeper.

I poured a little more mana into my sister.

“There’s a high probability he’ll rely on the Black Mana Tower. If we don’t catch him as soon as possible, we’re in danger, and the Magic God family itself is at risk.”

“I know.”

An excessive amount of mana for internal observation.

I poured in enough mana that a normal person would experience mana backlash.

It wasn’t particularly strenuous.

My sister and I are blood-related.

Our unique mana properties are somewhat similar.

As long as the unique mana properties are similar, mana backlash won’t occur to this extent.

I increased the density of mana a little more.

“So… ugh.”

My sister finally reacted.

She seemed to feel something foreign.

That meant I shouldn’t increase the mana density any further.

I reduced the mana back to the previous level.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just felt a tingling sensation in my body…”

“Should I call a nurse?”

“No, I’m okay now.”

My mana circulated through my sister’s body, synchronizing with her.

One cycle, two cycles, ten cycles.

The properties, which were already similar, became so alike that they could be considered the same mana.

As the assimilation rate increased, the amount of information I could obtain through internal observation continued to grow.

‘As expected. The corrupted mana is just embedded deep within my sister’s inner self. It hasn’t affected her body yet.’

After about 20 cycles, I gained certainty.

‘The corrupted mana within my sister’s body is not something she accepted willingly.’

If she had accepted the mana willingly, it wouldn’t be acting so separately.

This isn’t my sister accepting corrupted mana; someone implanted it in her.

And there’s only one person who could implant corrupted mana in my sister.

‘Shin Jihan.’

Shin Jihan implanted corrupted mana in my sister, aiming for something.

‘If so, Shin Jihan’s goal is…’

My mind spun like a top.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

A derelict building somewhere in the United States.

A place the Black Mana Tower occasionally uses as a hideout.

And now, a place Shin Jihan is using as a hideout.

Dark mana surged in front of Shin Jihan, who was leisurely swirling a wine glass.

“I hear Shin Se-ah has awakened.”

The darkness instantly transformed into Tkish’s figure.

Shin Jihan put the wine glass down on the table and glared at Tkish.

“The implanted mana? It wasn’t detected by the hospital’s detailed examination, was it?”

“You underestimate us too much. We don’t do sloppy work that would be caught by a mere hospital examination.”

Tkish handed Shin Jihan a stack of documents.

They were documents containing Shin Se-ah’s examination results.

Shin Jihan quickly scanned the documents.

“What we implemented this time is the Black Mana Tower’s latest technology, which compresses mana and keeps it dormant within the body. It’s impossible for even the latest examination machines, let alone Sophia Anetscheff’s jewel eyes, to detect this.”

“Hmm.”

There were no suspicious points in the examination results. Shin Jihan casually tossed the stack of documents onto the table.

“What about the suggestion?”

“You should know if you looked at the documents. It wasn’t detected.”

The suggestion placed on Shin Se-ah was so minor that it was virtually impossible to detect.

No, it was simply impossible.

Even if Charles, the leader of the hunting dogs [a group known for their mental magic expertise], were to step in, it would be impossible to detect.

“So, there’s no disruption to the plan?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“…Yes, of course.”

Tkish replied with a smile.

Of course, the smile was only on the surface.

Inside, he was thinking of tearing the man in front of him, Shin Jihan, to pieces.

Why does he keep asking so many questions?

‘I want to rip that mouth apart.’

While he was at it, he wanted to cut out those suspicious eyes as well.

Of course, he couldn’t actually do that.

Tkish clicked his tongue inwardly, desperately suppressing his annoyance.

“Considering we’ve failed three missions before, I understand your distrust, but you can trust us this time.”

Shin Jihan scoffed.

“It feels like I’ve heard that same line three times already.”

It was the third time he’d been told to wait with peace of mind.

If he believed that again, he wouldn’t be a person, but an idiot.

“Words are unnecessary. Bring me results.”

Shin Jihan crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand.

“Well, you’ll probably succeed this time. Your dignity as a cadre is at stake, after all.”

“…”

Tkish’s expression hardened.

‘This bastard…’

A murderous aura briefly emanated.

But that expression was fleeting.

Tkish swallowed his murderous intent with superhuman patience.

“Yes, I will do my best.”

This matter was an order from the Black Magic King.

‘Lastly, you must make up for your mistakes.’

This mission must not fail. It was a matter of Tkish’s own credibility.

No, even if it wasn’t an order from the Black Magic King, this matter must not fail.

He hated to admit it, but Shin Jihan was right. This mission was a matter of his dignity as a cadre.

‘Shin Hayul. I will kill that brat no matter what.’

Above all, Tkish had accumulated enough resentment.

He felt genuine murderous intent towards Shin Hayul, who kept blocking his path.

He would tear him to pieces and feed him to the stray dogs.

Tkish smiled inwardly as he thought that.

“But are you really okay? Your beloved sister…”

Tkish put on a look of concern.

“Of course. Se-ah will understand.”

Shin Jihan picked up the wine glass again and swirled it around.

The red wine filling the transparent glass looked like blood.

It felt as if he was wielding someone’s life in the palm of his hand.

“She can be helpful to me even in death. She’ll surely thank me even in heaven.”

Shin Jihan smiled.

It was a twisted smile of someone who was broken.

* * *

That night.

After returning from the hospital, I went straight to Mimir’s place.

I shared what I had learned today with Mimir and asked for his thoughts.

“What do you think?”

“If the Successor has judged that way, then it must be correct.”

Mimir, having heard everything, slowly shared his thoughts.

“You felt that your sister didn’t accept the corrupted mana willingly, right? Then that feeling is right.”

“It’s just a feeling, though?”

“That feeling is important.”

Mimir turned his gaze towards my abdomen, where the mana core was located.

“Currently, the Successor’s senses have been sharpened even further by the creation of the mana core. If the Successor feels that way now, then it’s correct.”

Mimir said with a confident expression.

“So, you also think that Se-ah noona isn’t the enemy?”

“Yeah, she probably isn’t. Besides, wasn’t the Successor’s sister almost killed?”

“Yeah.”

“No matter how much you hate someone, you usually don’t go that far with acting.”

“That’s true.”

It didn’t even look like acting in the first place.

No, before that, Se-ah noona doesn’t have that much talent for acting.

If it were acting, I would have noticed it a long time ago.

My sister wasn’t acting.

Because it wasn’t acting, she didn’t conspire with Shin Jihan either.

And the fact that such a sister has corrupted mana means.

“My sister is just a pawn.”

“Right. That’s for sure.”

Shin Jihan was using my sister as a pawn.

That was the conclusion.

“The problem is how he intends to use the Successor’s sister.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem.”

I understand that Shin Jihan is aiming for something and implanted corrupted mana in my sister’s body.

The problem is what his intention is. I don’t know what he plans to do with that mana to kill me.

“Did you check what kind of properties the corrupted mana in your sister’s body has?”

“I checked, but it was sealed, so I couldn’t check that far.”

“That’s a shame. If we could get even a little hint from there, we could know their purpose for sure.”

“I know.”

I was also disappointed.

“Then let’s see…”

Mimir frowned and pondered.

“The only thing they could be aiming for is a self-destruction, right?”

Self-destruction.

Using the corrupted mana dormant in my sister’s body to eliminate me along with my sister.

It was a plausible hypothesis.

In fact, I also thought that the possibility of self-destruction was high.

“I thought so at first too. But after thinking about it carefully, I don’t think that’s it.”

“Really? Why?”

“If he does that, Shin Jihan will never be able to return to the family.”

Currently, Shin Jihan is on the run after trying to kill me and Se-ah noona and getting caught.

In that situation, an unexplained mana explosion occurs in Se-ah noona, and she dies along with me?

Shin Jihan would be suspected in all likelihood.

That goes against Shin Jihan’s principle of action, which is to become the head of the Magic God family.

“Isn’t it possible that he gave up on becoming the head of the Magic God family?”

“He’s not that kind of person.”

Shin Jihan’s obsession is terrifying.

His obsession with becoming the head of the Magic God family is truly the best in the world.

There’s no way he would have given up.

“…Really? Then what could it be?”

Mimir pondered again.

“The SD card that the Successor’s sister had. There might be a hint there.”

“So, you also think that’s strange, Mimir.”

We had the same thought.

“If you knew about this situation, wouldn’t anyone think it’s strange?”

“That’s true.”

The SD card that my sister had.

Data containing evidence that Shin Jihan was in contact with the Black Mana Tower and committed all sorts of crimes, including document manipulation, within the family.

“Why did Shin Jihan pass such data to us through my sister?”

The fact that my sister had it meant that Shin Jihan intentionally gave it to her.

“He didn’t have to pass on such data.”

If there was no SD card, the only way to prove Shin Jihan’s guilt would be Se-ah noona’s testimony.

If there was no SD card, it would have been easier to pin all the blame on Se-ah noona.

To put it bluntly, he could have made Se-ah noona self-destruct, killing her and me, then appeared out of nowhere, presented some fake evidence, and recited a plausible scenario.

Since the dead can’t speak, there would have been rumors internally, but he could have achieved his dream of becoming the head of the Magic God family.

“Why do such a pointless thing…”

My thoughts became complicated.

What is Shin Jihan aiming for?

“Successor, while doing internal observation of your sister, did you find any traces of mental magic being used?”

“Mental magic?”

“Yeah. Even a minor suggestion would be fine.”

“I didn’t feel anything like that.”

I didn’t detect any other abnormalities.

“Really? Well, it’s hard to detect minor suggestions…”

“Why the suggestion?”

Mimir looked at me with a serious expression.

“If I were that trash Shin Jihan, I would have placed a separate suggestion on Shin Se-ah, lured the Successor somewhere, and done something there.”

“Luring me into a trap through suggestion?”

“Yeah. A minor suggestion like ‘you have to go somewhere’ has almost no chance of being detected. And looking at the situation, the Successor has no choice but to trust his sister, right?”

“…”

“Since you saw her almost die, you wouldn’t think it was acting. And he even provided evidence through the SD card.”

Mimir’s eyes shone sharply.

“If the Successor hadn’t detected the corrupted mana… If your sister called you saying she wanted to talk to you alone, wouldn’t you have gone?”

“…I probably would have. With my personality, I wouldn’t have gone alone, and I would have called Uncle Seokhyun to go quietly.”

Even if I didn’t go alone, I would have called Uncle Seokhyun and gone to the place I was told to go.

“What if that guy had set a trap there? Wouldn’t it have been incredibly dangerous?”

“Since the Black Mana Tower was involved… It would have been very dangerous whether Uncle Seokhyun was there or not. If there was even a cadre there, I would have been 100% dead.”

My expression became more and more serious.

“If the purpose is to lure the Successor like this, then it makes sense why he gave the SD card with evidence to your sister.”

“…It was bait to make me trust Se-ah noona.”

“Yeah. That’s what I would have done.”

“…”

I felt a chill run down my spine.

If I hadn’t been able to detect the ‘corrupted mana,’ it would have been a very elaborate scheme that I would never have been able to escape.

“Of course, this is all just a hypothesis. There’s no evidence. You can even call it a delusion.”

“That’s why you asked about the suggestion.”

“Yeah. If we could find any traces of a suggestion on the Successor’s sister, we would have one piece of evidence.”

“…I’ll say it again, there were no traces of a suggestion. I don’t know if I couldn’t find it or if it doesn’t exist.”

“Yeah. That’s the problem…”

Mimir touched his hair and began to contemplate.

I also pondered, like Mimir.

I organized the new information and thought about whether there was a new solution.

“Ah!”

Then, suddenly, Mimir exclaimed.

“Aslan…! That’s right. Aslan was there!”

Mimir shouted with a bright expression, as if he had remembered something.