The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 264

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-265

Charles headed to England to meet Sophia after a long while.

As he was in charge of guarding Shin Ha-yul, he shouldn’t have left his post like this, but…

Currently, France was swarming with powerful individuals, including Kim Seok-hyun.

The chances of something happening to Shin Ha-yul were extremely low.

“I understand the situation, but I’m still worried. The Black Magic Tower is full of people who defy common sense…”

Sophia, after hearing Charles’ explanation, still looked worried.

She looked like she was watching over a child left by the water’s edge.

“Hey. Don’t worry. No matter what those guys do, they won’t even be able to touch Ha-yul’s fingertip.”

Charles waved his hand dismissively, as if to say there was no need to worry.

“Sein Vinoche. That guy likes Ha-yul a lot. Nothing can happen in Paris.”

“Sein likes that child?”

Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise.

Given her position, she had met Sein Vinoche a few times.

A cold-blooded absolute being who rarely showed affection.

That was the personality of Sein Vinoche that Sophia had grasped.

For such a person to like Shin Ha-yul so much.

What on earth had happened in the past 40 days?

“I’ll tell you about that later. It’s quite an interesting story, but it’s not a high priority.”

Charles chuckled, thinking about Shin Ha-yul, Luan Palatia, and the Vinoche family.

Then, he hardened his expression, remembering the seriousness of what he had to say.

“First, here. This is the information about the Black Magic Tower that Shadow gave us.”

Charles handed Sophia a pile of documents and two USB drives.

For reference, the contents of the documents were printed versions of the USB data.

It was prepared in advance to suit Sophia’s analog sensibilities, as she preferred receiving reports on paper.

“As you can see, it’s substantial. Honestly, it’s far more extensive and superior than the information Madame and I have gathered over decades. Well, it’s to be expected, I guess.”

An insider of the Black Magic Tower.

Moreover, it was information provided by an executive, so the density and quantity of the information were incredibly excellent.

“Even the information about their bases is so detailed…”

Sophia listened to Charles’ words and quickly read through the documents she had received.

Indeed, they were filled with information so excellent that Charles would say such things.

“I don’t think we have any reason to stay hidden anymore.”

Information about the Black Magic Tower’s spies lurking in each country.

Information about the abilities of each executive belonging to the Black Magic Tower.

Information about each base of the Black Magic Tower and how to enter them.

It would be a sin to remain still with such information.

Now it was their turn to go on the offensive.

“Just in case, I’m asking, but it’s okay to eliminate the spies now, right?”

“Yeah. It’s okay. All the deals with Shadow are over.”

The reason they hadn’t eliminated the spies until now was to protect Shadow’s safety.

To be precise, it was to protect the additional information they would obtain in the future by protecting Shadow’s safety.

Now that the deal was over, there was no need to consider Shadow at all.

“…I see.”

Sophia quickly scanned the documents and organized her thoughts.

Certainly, now was the time to go on the offensive, as Charles had said.

It was time to go on the offensive, but…

“What are you so worried about? If we just eliminate the spies all at once, their ears and eyes will be closed. If we strike then, even the Black Magic King won’t be able to respond properly.”

“…”

Logically, Charles’ words were correct.

Cut off the opponent’s informants, and then organize a large-scale subjugation force.

Focus all their power when the opponent’s eyes and ears are closed.

This decisive blow was something that could not be easily blocked.

Now was the perfect opportunity.

But for some reason, a sense of unease was slowly rising in her mind.

‘The Black Magic King… if it’s him…’

A 10th Circle mage [A mage who has reached the highest level of magic mastery].

The Black Magic King.

A monster who defied common sense.

Wouldn’t he somehow be able to block it?

Such anxious thoughts filled Sophia’s mind.

“Madame. Get a grip. It’s good to be wary of the Black Magic King, but why are you being afraid?”

“That’s…”

Afraid of the Black Magic King.

She wanted to deny those words, but she couldn’t.

Certainly, Sophia was afraid of the Black Magic King.

After their fight in America, the fact that she wasn’t even a proper match had taken shape as a thorn of fear, lodged deep in her heart.

“I can understand why Madame would think that way. His power was that strong.”

Charles’ eyes sharpened.

“But Madame, you said it yourself. He hasn’t fully controlled his power yet. In fact, Shadow’s report also states that.”

The information Sophia had analyzed and the information Shadow had provided.

Both said that the Black Magic King was not yet at his full strength.

“Against such a guy, isn’t giving him time the worst thing we could do?”

It was an undeniable truth.

Certainly, if they were going to fight, it was better to do it as soon as possible.

If they gave him time and the Black Magic King succeeded in gathering all his power, then it would be incomparably more difficult than it was now.

“And… we don’t have time.”

Charles bit his lip hard and stared at Sophia’s body.

The curse had become much darker than it was two months ago. The growth rate of the curse had increased rapidly after the previous battle with the Black Magic King.

At this rate, Sophia Anetscheffri would die within half a year.

They had to defeat the Black Magic King somehow before that.

“Honestly, my life doesn’t matter at all…”

Sophia said with a bitter smile, as if she had read Charles’ mind.

“…Don’t say that.”

Charles glared at Sophia with sharp eyes.

It was a look that said, ‘Try saying that again.’

Sophia smiled warmly.

She felt good because she could feel Charles’ consideration and love.

Was this what it would feel like to have a daughter?

“Anyway, it seems we need to fight before I’m completely bedridden. My departure would be a big loss in terms of combat power.”

“Yeah. It’s best to end it as quickly as possible.”

No matter how much they thought about it, time was not on their side.

They had to fight as soon as possible.

“I understand. Then let’s reorganize the plan in that direction.”

* * *

Evening time.

I was organizing the information I had obtained this time with Mimir in Mimir’s study.

“Re-infiltration… it’s literally high-risk, high-return.”

If Shadow successfully re-infiltrated, they would be able to continue to obtain new information.

However, if his identity was exposed and the re-infiltration failed, there was a high probability that their information would flow to the other side.

Since they were the kind of guys who used torture and mind manipulation without hesitation, it could be said that everything Shadow knew would be revealed to them.

“It’ll be a bit troublesome if he gets caught… but it’s okay. He probably won’t get caught.”

This re-infiltration of Shadow was not as risky as it seemed.

There was little chance that Shadow’s identity would be exposed.

“Why?”

“Hmm. Come to think of it, have I not told you yet?”

When I thought about it, Mimir didn’t know anything about Shadow’s current state.

“Here.”

I handed Mimir two photos.

One was a photo of Shadow from before.

And the other was a photo of Shadow from after.

“…Is this a picture of a father and son? What is this?”

Mimir tilted her head, as if wondering why I was suddenly giving her these photos.

Since Mimir had only heard about Shadow from my words, it would be difficult for her to guess that the man in the photo was Shadow.

“They’re both Shadow.”

“…What?”

Mimir’s eyes widened as she looked at the photos again.

She held the two photos in her hands and looked at them alternately.

Her already large eyes became even larger.

“Did he get this big after removing Umbra’s shadow?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it amazing?”

I was also very surprised.

Shadow, who had disappeared for two days, suddenly appeared as an adult.

“…Certainly, if his appearance has changed this much, there’s almost no chance of him being discovered.”

“Right. In the first place, even Charles and Sophia don’t know that Shadow has become an adult.”

For reference, Sein didn’t know either.

When he met Sein, Shadow was said to have been covered in shadows.

“Certainly, the risk isn’t that high if it’s like this. Roughly… would you say it’s a medium risk?”

“I’d say it’s a low risk, barely.”

It wasn’t just that he had grown, but the atmosphere he exuded was completely different from before.

The previous Shadow felt like a personification of emptiness, but the current Shadow didn’t have that feeling at all.

It seemed that he had regained the senses and emotions that had been eaten away by the shadow.

Anyway, it was quite difficult to associate the current Shadow with the previous Shadow.

Honestly, I almost couldn’t tell them apart.

Somehow, even the nature of the mana he possessed and the nature of the surrounding mana had changed. I would have believed it if someone said he was a completely different person.

“If the Successor is so sure, then it must be so.”

Mimir’s eyes sparkled with interest. She looked like she wanted to meet Shadow in person if possible.

“By the way, this is… interesting.”

It seemed that her scholarly curiosity had been ignited.

“It’s also interesting that he can still manipulate shadows even after removing Umbra’s core. What on earth happened inside Shadow’s body?”

For reference, Shadow had not lost his power. The current Shadow could still manipulate shadows.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same as before.

Having lost Umbra’s core, his power had weakened considerably.

The shadow movement that could travel hundreds of kilometers could now only travel about 10 kilometers.

He could no longer deploy large-scale magic like the Shadow Sanctuary.

Compared to before, his output had decreased by more than 90%.

The only thing that hadn’t changed from before was his excellent stealth ability.

“If I could figure that out, it would help me tame this guy completely. It’s a shame I can’t see it directly.”

Mimir narrowed her eyes as she looked at Umbra’s core, a special sphere that looked like a clump of shadows, placed on the table.

“Is it still difficult?”

“Hmm. A little?”

Currently, Mimir was trying to find a way to forge Umbra’s core into a medium for mythical magic.

If she succeeded, I would be able to use the magic that Shadow had used.

“It’s a bit tricky because the symbols of the guys belonging to the Evil God faction are a bit picky. Taming them isn’t easy… In fact, even Father only tamed one symbol of an Evil God.”

Despite saying something despairing, her expression was lively.

She looked like she was enjoying this situation very much.

Was it because she was a scholar and researcher by nature?

“But still, it seems like you see some hope?”

“Of course.”

Mimir smiled brightly with a confident expression.

“If it were the old days, I would have had to give up, but…”

She looked at the piles of books placed next to her while smiling.

They were all books about the latest magic technology that I had brought.

“The current me is Ultra Mimir, one step more evolved than the Mimir of the Bytener Empire era. This is a piece of cake.”

In short, she had come up with a new approach in the process of studying the latest technology. That’s what she meant.

“That’s amazing?”

“Hold your praise for now. You’ll get double when the research is successful.”

Mimir smiled bashfully.

She looked genuinely happy.

“Ah, and what about Doctor? Is it all sorted out?”

“Ah. That? Yeah. I finished it a while ago.”

Mimir handed me a notebook.

“Well, to sum it up, thankfully, black magic hasn’t been freed from the shackles of the future.”

I opened the notebook Mimir had given me and quickly read through it.

“It’s not that black magic itself has evolved, but rather that it’s just using Caries, a mythical symbol.”

“I see.”

Doctor’s magic was not an evolved form of black magic.

It was just using the power of Caries.

In other words, black magic had not broken free from the shackles of the future.

Black magic was still outdated.

That’s what she meant.

“That’s a relief.”

I let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of my heart.

He was already terrifyingly strong. I was worried about what would happen if he appeared even stronger.

It seemed that I didn’t have to worry about that.

“But…”

Mimir trailed off with a meaningful expression.

“The fact that black mages are researching mythical symbols is bothering me.”

“What’s bothering you?”

“Researching something means they want to gain something new, right?”

Mimir’s eyes sharpened.

“What they’re trying to gain. That’s what’s bothering me.”