The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 250

After all the talking was done,

I was led to a corner room on the top floor of the mansion.

“Don’t worry too much and just get some rest. I’ll contact you immediately if anything happens,” Stella said, handing me some clothes to change into.

She looked worried that I might start moving again without resting.

“Okay, I understand.”

But that was far from the truth.

Right now, I have no intention or energy to move.

‘…I used Resonance for too long.’

After becoming a 6th Circle mage, using Resonance has become quite manageable.

I can maintain it at maximum output for more than 10 minutes.

It’s also possible to lower the output and increase the usage time.

The reason I was able to maintain Resonance while coming here was because of this.

But being manageable is one thing. The penalty is not much different from before.

The critical drawback of the Infinity Circle freezing as soon as Resonance ends still remains.

Right now, I can’t use magic for about 12 hours.

‘The good thing is that my mana core is still working…’

But even that doesn’t mean much unless the Infinity Circle is working properly.

The reason my mana core shows such amazing purity and output is because of its connection with the Infinity Circle.

With the Infinity Circle frozen, my mana core is just an ordinary mana core.

“That’s unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t be able to resist doing something,” Stella said, looking at my core area with a worried expression.

She seemed to have noticed that my core was weaker than usual.

“Honestly, I’m itching to do something, but… if I act in this state, it’ll be more of a hindrance than help.”

Stella smiled silently.

Her not verbally agreeing with my statement about being a hindrance showed her true nature.

“I’ll accept your help after you’ve fully recovered your condition.”

“Okay. I’ll do my best to help then.”

Stella smiled again.

* * *

After Stella left the room,

I made sure to lock the door and then turned to Mimir.

“Mimir, I’m here.”

And I showed Mimir ‘Ignis’s Medium’ and told her everything that happened today.

The first thing Mimir asked after hearing everything was about the Doctor’s abilities.

“Doctor. Was that guy’s magic definitely black magic?”

“Definitely. Magic that’s activated based on corrupted mana. It’s black magic.”

“…I see. So that’s what it is.”

The intention behind that question was, ‘Is it possible that the Doctor, like Shadow, is also dealing with the legacy of myths?’

Asking such a question meant that Mimir knew nothing about the Doctor’s magic.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’ve never heard of such magic before.”

As expected.

“Then it’s a new form of black magic that was born with the flow of time.”

“…I guess you could say that.”

Mimir’s expression became serious.

She didn’t know how to accept this situation.

“What’s wrong?”

Is she worried because the Doctor’s abilities are too powerful?

Or is she upset that there’s something she doesn’t know?

Or is there another reason?

“My father once said something like this.”

“Your teacher?”

It seems there’s another reason.

“Black magic is a power that has given up on the future.”

“The future…? Does that mean there’s a huge penalty for using black magic?”

Like lifespan.

Black mages are said to have short lives in exchange for rapid achievements.

It’s fair to say they’ve given up on the future.

“That’s part of it, but my father’s words at the time didn’t mean that.”

Mimir slowly moved her hand and took mine.

“Black magic is magic that has no possibility of evolution or growth. That’s what my father meant.”

No possibility of evolution.

“So, black magic is designed to unleash powerful force in the present, in exchange for giving up the possibility of the future, the possibility of evolution. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. That’s why the Four Nations led by Veil had an overwhelming advantage in the early stages of the war. It was natural. The general-purpose magic derived from the Vaitener style was still in the development stage, while the black magic of the Four Nations was complete.”

Mimir seemed to be relaying something she had heard from someone, as if it had happened before she was born.

“There were even times when the enemy forces invaded the capital of the Vaitener Empire.”

“They were pushed back that far? How did they manage to counterattack in that situation?”

The capital was breached.

That’s checkmate.

How did they reverse the situation from that point?

“Well, my father was in the capital.”

“Ah.”

An anomaly that even reversed checkmate.

An irregular who broke the rules.

Ray Bell Vaitener.

My teacher turned everything around.

“Even after overcoming that great crisis with my father’s power, several more crises came. It was only natural. My father was the only one who could stand against the Four Nations.”

“….”

Even though she was talking about a rather bleak situation, there wasn’t a single shadow on Mimir’s face.

Rather, there was a light.

A light called pride.

“But that overwhelming disadvantage disappeared in exactly three years.”

“How?”

“It ripened.”

“What did?”

“The fruit of the seeds my father planted.”

Mimir’s expression brightened.

“In the third year of the war, a man named Aslan Polohamruin bloomed the flower of talent. It was the birth of a mage who could wield the exclusive domain of space magic, which only my father could handle.”

“Ah!”

Aslan.

A nostalgic name.

“Next to bloom was Elena Ro Greenwood. The Queen of the Forest.”

Another nostalgic name.

“After that, countless seeds bloomed into flowers. From that point on, our disadvantage completely disappeared, and an equal situation unfolded.”

Mimir’s eyes were filled with a feeling of longing.

“Isn’t it amazing? That it got to that point in just three years.”

“It is amazing.”

Three years.

It’s a very short time to turn an overwhelming disadvantage into a parallel line.

“No, more than that, it’s more surprising that people like Aslan and Elena popped up like mushrooms after the rain.”

It’s amazing that all the talented people bloomed at once, but it’s even more amazing that all those talents were concentrated in one era.

Was it heaven’s help?

“Everyone actually called it a miracle. Even I, who read it in the literature, thought it was a miracle.”

Mimir smiled shyly.

“But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a miracle.”

“Then what was it?”

“Necessity.”

Mimir looked straight into my eyes. An indescribable emotion was conveyed.

“I told you earlier, right? That black magic is a power that has given up on the future.”

“Yeah.”

“The Vaitener style is the opposite.”

“…Opposite?”

“A power for the future.”

Mimir gently took my hand.

“My father said that the Vaitener style is a kind power that can change into any form in response to someone’s wishes. That infinite change is the power of evolution, the power that leads to the future.”

Mimir’s warmth was conveyed through her hand.

“Just like now. After countless long years, the Vaitener style has been passed down to its successor.”

I think I know what she means.

“In short, black magic is for the present, giving up the future, and the Vaitener style and general-purpose magic are for the future, giving up the present to some extent.”

“Hmm. It’s hard to say that they gave up the present, but… compared to black magic, it feels like that.”

Mimir smiled slightly and let go of my hand.

I stared at my hand, which had become strangely empty, and then clenched it into a fist.

“The epitome of evolution… That’s a heart-pounding phrase. It means that depending on what I do, I can surpass my teacher, right?”

“I’ve always said that if you’re the successor, you can surpass my father.”

Mimir replied with a smile.

“Of course, it’ll be difficult.”

Then she stuck out her tongue slightly and smiled playfully.

“Anyway, the two magics are in a perfect antagonistic relationship. You understand up to this point, right?”

“I understand perfectly.”

“That’s why you’re having a headache right now.”

Mimir’s expression gradually darkened.

“Black magic is definitely a power that has given up on the future. No matter how much time passes, it will never grow. Since there is no growth, nothing new will be born. No, it shouldn’t be.”

“That’s right.”

“But something new was born, right?”

A power Mimir didn’t know.

The mysterious magic the Doctor used.

There was a very high probability that the magic was newly born.

“Of course, there might be magic I don’t know about. But…”

Mimir trailed off.

Perhaps what she was going to say was something like, ‘The probability of that is almost zero.’

In fact, Mimir, who remembers all the history of that fierce war, is unlikely to not know something.

“If black magic breaks free from the shackles of having no future and gains the future…”

Dark clouds gathered on Mimir’s face.

“It means that Veil Stoll, who will be resurrected again someday, will be resurrected as an even more powerful being.”

“That guy, who was so strong that even my teacher couldn’t completely defeat him… will be resurrected even stronger?”

It was a terrible future.

So terrible that I didn’t even want to imagine it.

* * *

‘Originally, one way would have been to flee to Korea as it is, but I can’t do that now.’

‘I need to gather information. Whether the magic that the Doctor is using is really newly born. Whether black magic has really freed itself from the shackles of the future.’

‘I must get an answer to that. To prepare for the worst enemy that will come someday.’

Mimir was right.

To prevent the future catastrophe, I need to get information now, no matter what.

To do that, I need to stay here for now and fight the Doctor.

‘Originally, I was going to stall for some time, contact my father or Commander Charles, and go back to Korea…’

There’s no need to fight the Doctor right now.

So, I was going to observe the situation and quietly return if it seemed like there were no major problems…

The situation has changed.

‘I’ll do my best to deal with the Doctor. And get information about the power the Doctor possesses.’

If I miss this opportunity, I don’t know when another opportunity like this will come.

I have to catch the Doctor and get information, no matter what.

‘Fortunately, the situation isn’t too bad. There’s also Sein Vinoche, the strongest card against the Doctor, on our side.’

The Doctor’s magic is a magic that releases his mana, contaminates the mana in the air, and erases the target that comes into contact with the contaminated mana.

And the Vinoche family’s sword that Sein Vinoche wields is a ‘sword that cuts mana.’

‘In front of Sein’s sword, the Doctor’s mana infection loses its meaning.’

He’s already strong, but he’s also compatible with the Doctor.

With such a person on our side, there’s no reason to back down.

‘There’s also a chance that the Doctor will call for reinforcements…’

That doesn’t matter much either.

If he calls for reinforcements, we can just call for reinforcements too.

‘The real key is if the Doctor gives up everything and flees from here…’

But that’s unlikely.

With his personality, there’s no way he’d run away without getting revenge.

He’ll definitely try to do something.

…Probably.

‘Still, it’s better to check just in case.’

I took out the secret line terminal from my pocket and wrote a message.

It was a message to Shadow.

[Request to track the Doctor’s movements.]

A special terminal that can only send three messages. With the limit of three times, the probability of being caught by Hermes is very low.

I had been refraining from using the terminal as much as possible because of the limit, but there’s no reason to save it now.

I wrote the remaining two messages as they were.

[Transaction preparation complete. Requesting to join.]

[Will join as the Doctor’s reinforcements.]

As soon as the message was sent, the terminal crackled and was destroyed.

I put the broken terminal back into Aes.

With this, the destruction of evidence is also neatly done.

‘Next…’

I slowly carried out the plans I had made.

About 10 minutes passed like that.

“With this, all preparations are complete.”

I had perfectly finished preparing to capture the Doctor alive.