The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 286

The Anti-Magia’s goal is to eliminate magic from this world. More precisely, they aim to abolish the privileged class by eliminating magic and establish a perfectly equal society. Their chosen method for this is suicide terrorism. They use Anti-Magia, a dangerous substance that reacts to mana and magic, to widely publicize the dangers of magic in the world. In addition, they cause artificial mana disasters by destroying super-large magic engineering cores. They also target medium-sized mana cores, which are used by most companies, and cause explosions by physically impacting them. Under the guise of raising awareness about the dangers of magic, they are committing horrific acts of terrorism. They call it a ‘warning,’ but from the perspective of ordinary people, it’s just indiscriminate terrorism filled with the ravings of a crazed cult. Besides these international acts of terrorism, they also commit all sorts of crimes, such as kidnapping, robbery, and murder. Who would listen to their twisted logic? They claim it’s all punishment for ‘magicians’ or ‘sinners who tolerate magic.’ But in a modern society centered around magic, who doesn’t fall into that category? Therefore, the Anti-Magia is nothing more than a cult terrorist group without any justification. That’s the common thought of all 7 billion people. “Adela Steart. A sinner who is closer to the sin of magic than anyone else.” The leader, who is in charge of this terrorist attack, laughed maniacally and spread his arms wide towards Adela. “Your death will be a good example. It will surely be the driving force to move the reformers who are still hiding in the shadows, cowering in fear of magicians.” “…….” Adela frowned. It was a twisted logic that was hard to listen to. They say there’s no one harder to deal with than an ideologue who thinks their twisted logic is the truth. That seems to be true. She doesn’t even feel like talking to that man right now. It’s clear that it would be useless to say anything. “But, it’s surprising. Why didn’t you stay hidden?” They don’t know how she was hiding, but they hadn’t detected Adela Steart’s presence. So, she could have just stayed hidden. Why did she reveal herself like this? “I couldn’t stand to watch your atrocities any longer.” The leader’s pupils gradually widened. He looked quite surprised. “So, you decided to sacrifice yourself to protect others? Even knowing what will happen to you?” “…….” Adela was silent. It was a silence that implied agreement. “Oh. Oooooh!” The leader exclaimed loudly with a maniacal laugh. “Despite being deeply influenced by the sin of magic, you still prioritize the lives of other humans over your own. You still have a more human side than anyone else.” The man suddenly shed tears. “I am very moved right now. Indeed, the dignity of human beings does not succumb to magic. I am convinced of that once again through you.” “…….” Adela’s eyes narrowed for a moment. She couldn’t understand what that man was saying. She wondered if they were even speaking the same language. “Excellent. Excellent.” The leader applauded Adela while shedding tears. “Seeing your human heart, I will grant your wish.” He was crying and laughing. “While you are being punished, I will not touch the others.” In other words, he wouldn’t touch the others while Adela was enduring torture. “I promise. So, come here with peace of mind.” The man gestured to Adela. It was like a saint gesturing for a sinner to come closer. A reverent and gentle gesture. “I will forgive your sins.” “…….” Adela was silent. A silence of brain freeze, not agreement. Adela’s mind was filled with question marks. She felt like she would have a nervous breakdown if she talked any more. ‘First…’ She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she understood that he was telling her to come closer and that he wouldn’t harm the others if she did. Then, she should answer like this. “I will remember your promise not to harm the others.” “Yes. I promise on the beliefs of the Anti-Magia.” Adela nodded at the leader’s confirmation and slowly moved towards him. After about 20 steps. Adela stood right in front of the leader. The leader wiped away the tears he hadn’t managed to wipe off and looked down at Adela. “Now. Let’s begin.” He reached out his hand towards Adela’s head. “I will forgive your sins.” Just as the leader’s hand was about to touch Adela’s head. Adela moved. She dodged the leader’s hand and suddenly lunged into his chest. Thud! She delivered a body slam. “Kuh!” Since she didn’t use mana, it wasn’t that powerful, but it was enough to disrupt the terrorist’s balance, who was off guard. Wobble! The terrorist staggered and tried to fall backward. However, because the impact wasn’t strong enough, he didn’t fall completely. He managed to regain his balance by using his right leg as a support. “You bitch…” The leader glared at Adela with a fierce expression. How dare she do such a thing? How dare she trample on his last act of mercy like this? He wouldn’t forgive her. He would kill her in the most humiliating and painful way possible. His eyes were filled with such intent. The leader immediately pulled out a pistol from his chest and aimed it at Adela. He was aiming for her thigh. He would make her unable to move first, then slowly torture her. ‘I’ll start by pulling out her fingernails and toenails.’ Just as he was about to pull the trigger. Tap. Just before the terrorist fired the gun. Adela’s right hand touched the right chest of the leader’s vest. Bang! A gunshot rang out after a moment. The terrorist’s smile deepened. He couldn’t help but laugh as he imagined Adela writhing in pain and crawling on the ground. “You…” However, contrary to the man’s expectations, Adela didn’t scream or fall down. “Is this a gunpowder gun? It’s weaker than I heard.” A translucent barrier spread over Adela’s thigh, deflecting the bullet. In other words, she blocked the bullet with magic. “…Pfft, Puhaha, KHAHAHAHAHA!” The terrorist laughed maniacally. He laughed as if mocking the foolish magician who used magic in front of the Anti-Magia. “As expected, magicians are selfish bastards. They’re taking everyone down with them because they don’t want to suffer themselves.” The terrorist threw away his gun and shouted at the hostages. “It’s over! The Anti-Magia will explode soon, and you will all die!” The man’s laughter filled the airport. “It’s this bitch who killed you! This despicable magician killed you! Look! This is what a magician is! Magic is the evil of this world! UHAHAHAHA!” He laughed loudly until his throat was hoarse, as if he couldn’t be happier. “I, I can’t die like this.” “Mom! Mommaaaa!” The screams of the hostages coming from all directions sounded like a lullaby. He felt a thrill that he was the one who created this situation. ‘I’m doing what I have to do as a human and dying.’ Like an Anti-Magia. Like a human. The terrorist prepared for the end. However, things didn’t go as the terrorist expected. ‘…Why isn’t it exploding?’ It should have exploded a long time ago. But why isn’t the Anti-Magia showing any signs of exploding? “It’s not exploding.” Adela muttered indifferently, looking at the leader. “I’ve absorbed and blocked all the mana flowing into the Anti-Magia. The Anti-Magia won’t explode.” “…What?” The terrorist slowly lowered his gaze and looked at Adela’s right hand. Her right hand was still gripping his vest. ‘She’s… pressing down on the exact spot where the Anti-Magia is?’ Adela was clutching the Anti-Magia. “You… how…” “You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. You wouldn’t know since you’re not even 100% sure what I’m doing.” Adela moved her mana and materialized magic. “So, sleep quietly.” Third Circle Wind Magic. It created a vacuum around the man’s mouth and nose. This made it impossible for the man to breathe anymore. The man writhed in agony. “Ah, right. Before you pass out. One. I’ll tell you something good.” Adela smiled fiercely, looking at the writhing terrorist. “The Anti-Magia is no longer harmful. We’ve found the answer.” “…!” The terrorist’s eyes widened. Adela’s magic had created a vacuum around his mouth and nose, so he couldn’t speak. But he seemed to know what she was trying to say. ‘What nonsense are you talking about!’ That’s what the man was shouting. “We’ve found a way to neutralize the Anti-Magia. Your terrorism is meaningless now.” The terrorist’s eyes trembled violently. Seeing that she had neutralized the Anti-Magia, it couldn’t be a complete lie. Then, had they really found a way to neutralize the Anti-Magia? How? Who? “The discovery of the method to neutralize the Anti-Magia is all because of you. If you hadn’t targeted Korea, if you hadn’t touched the dragon’s reverse scale [a metaphor for something that should not be provoked], this wouldn’t have happened. You ruined the Anti-Magia.” “…….” The man’s eyes were filled with despair. “So, please sleep while despairing to the depths of your bones.” That was the end. The terrorist lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen. The terrorist was completely unconscious. Adela released the magic and took off the vest, holding it in her hand. With this, the leader’s Anti-Magia was dealt with. “You, you dare!” The terrorist who was the leader’s aide shouted. He had been momentarily stunned by the unexpected situation, but now he had regained his senses. “Shoot them! It doesn’t matter if it’s that bitch or the hostages! Kill them all!” The terrorist shouted maniacally. He was no different from the leader from before. How powerful was the Anti-Magia’s brainwashing education? Adela clicked her tongue inwardly. “No, just explode the Anti-Magia! Press the self-destruct switch!” The self-destruct switch. A self-explosion switch that utilizes the property of Anti-Magia, which explodes in response to mana and magic. It’s a method of forcibly exploding the Anti-Magia by simultaneously dispersing a large amount of mana that has been prepared in advance. It’s one of the reasons why Anti-Magia’s terrorism is impossible to counter. “What are you all doing! Don’t just stand there, hurry…” However, that method was already blocked. “Those guys have been unconscious for a long time.” Someone began to crawl out of Adela’s shadow. “Shin Hayul…? How did you…” Shin Hayul. He took the vest from Adela’s hand and extracted the Anti-Magia located on the right pocket. “That makes five.” With this, they succeeded in recovering all five Anti-Magia. Shin Hayul threw away the dirty vest and glared at the remaining terrorist. “How… how…” “How what? While you guys were distracted by Adela, we took them out one by one.” Shin Hayul didn’t do anything particularly great. He just took out the terrorists one by one while they were laughing and looking at Adela. Since they were protecting over 7,000 people, the terrorists were quite far apart. And since they weren’t looking at each other, it wasn’t that difficult to attack from behind. “That can’t be… They’re all members who have endured 10 years of murderous training schedules just for today! There’s no way they wouldn’t have noticed a kid who can’t even use magic…!” “Who said I can’t use magic?” Shin Hayul coated the Anti-Magia in his hand with his shadow and then tossed it up and down as if he were playing jacks. “…That, that can’t be.” If he couldn’t use magic, it would have been impossible to take out the terrorists one by one. But Shin Hayul can use magic. And it’s shadow magic, which is the strongest in terms of stealth. It’s impossible for a mere terrorist to detect Shin Hayul. Especially if they were distracted by Adela. “How… how can you use magic…!” The remaining terrorist slumped down. He slumped down and hung his head, repeating the words, ‘That can’t be.’ “That’s none of your business.” Shin Hayul shot a stone missile at the terrorist. “Just go to sleep.” The stone missile hit him squarely on the jaw. The terrorist immediately lost consciousness. With this, the suppression of all the terrorists was complete. “Everyone, you’ve all been through a lot.” Shin Hayul put the Anti-Magia in his pocket and smiled brightly, looking at the citizens who were still sitting there in a daze. “It’s all over now.” He smiled the brightest smile in the world to reassure the citizens. Shin Hayul’s smile soon spread to the citizens’ relief. “Ah…” “I, is it over…? Really…?” “A, are we alive?” “Yes.” The citizens, who had not yet grasped the situation, were still in a daze. Shin Hayul smiled brightly, looking at those citizens. He smiled the brightest and strongest smile in the world to reassure the citizens. “Let’s all go home.” “Wow…” A short exclamation. Immediately after. “WAAAAAAAHHHHH!” “We’re alive! We’re alive!” “SHIIIIIIIIIIIT! We’re alive!” A great cheer erupted.