The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 341

A sudden attack.

Adela and Soonchan immediately prepared to counterattack.

“Stop. You guys stay put.”

I stopped Soonchan and Adela and stepped forward.

“Please stay still.”

“Stop the rotation of your mana circles.”

Behind me, I heard Elena and Aslan’s voices.

In cold, forceful tones, they told Adela and Soonchan not to use magic.

“You are not Adela and Ji Soonchan right now. If you use magic, you’ll be suspected.”

“Ah…!”

At that moment, Adela and Soonchan stopped moving.

Both of them had a look of realization on their faces.

‘As expected of Elena and Aslan. With them here, I don’t need to worry about anything else and can act immediately.’

I glanced at the two of them and chuckled, then focused all my attention on the approaching attackers.

“You’ve chosen the wrong people to rob.”

With that light warning, I pulled out the small dagger I had hanging at my waist.

“What are you going to do with that dagger…”

The attackers were all armed with longswords and greatswords.

Compared to those swords, my dagger would look like a toy.

“That dagger, you say? It’s certainly a toy-like sword, but…”

It was indeed a toy.

This dagger was just a cheap survival knife I bought at a convenience store during the investigation.

“For the likes of you, this toy is more than enough.”

At that moment, mana surged from the dagger.

A blade made of mana.

Sword aura [a manifestation of a swordsman’s inner energy].

It coated my survival knife.

“A, a Qi-grade swordsman…! ?”

Modern swordsmen are broadly classified into three categories.

[Body-grade] swordsmen, who can perfectly control their bodies.

[Qi-grade] swordsmen, who can control mana like their own limbs.

And finally, [Mind-grade] swordsmen, who can wield their swords with their minds.

“You should have investigated your opponent before attacking.”

Only a ‘Qi-grade’ swordsman can extend their sword aura this far.

It was natural for them to mistake me for a ‘Qi-grade’ swordsman.

“If you’re going to resent someone, resent your leader for launching an attack without properly investigating.”

I swung the dagger.

The sword aura extending from the dagger drew a beautiful diagonal line, leaving a blue trail in the air.

Swoooosh-!

Red flowers of blood bloomed along the blue trail.

Beautiful red blooming from ugly humans.

It dyed the world in crimson.

“Th, this… what is this…”

Having lost all eleven of his subordinates in an instant, the man seemed to be in a panic.

His face turned pale as he stammered.

“It’s much quieter now.”

I erased the sword aura and swung the dagger in the air to shake off the blood.

But what was this?

Instead of the blood falling off, the dagger shattered with a cracking sound.

“As expected, a toy is just a toy.”

“H, heek!”

It seemed that a survival knife I bought for 5,000 won at a mart couldn’t withstand my mana.

I picked up the broken dagger and focused my mana into my hand.

The dagger, affected by my mana, instantly turned to dust and began to scatter.

The survival knife disappeared without leaving a trace.

I brushed off the dust that was once a knife from my hand and turned my gaze to the lone attacker.

“S, surely not a Mind-grade swordsman?”

“…?”

The man muttered something out of the blue.

“I’ve heard rumors of a realm where one can cut down enemies just by thinking… I never thought it was real…”

The man’s face was turning increasingly pale.

“D, did I just stick my head into the jaws of a tiger…”

Nonsense born of ignorance.

‘Me, a Mind-grade swordsman?’

Ha.

It was so absurd that I was speechless.

I could understand them mistaking me for a Qi-grade swordsman after seeing the fake sword aura I created with mana.

But to mistake me for a Mind-grade swordsman just because I swung my sword quickly?

How unskilled must they be to make such a mistake?

Have they never seen a proper swordsman before?

“I, I’m sorry. I, I made a big mistake. Please, please spare my life…”

While I was scoffing inwardly,

The man knelt down and bowed his head.

He begged for his life in a dogeza position [a traditional Japanese kneeling bow of deep apology].

“I don’t dislike people who have a strong attachment to life.”

I slowly approached the man.

“Usually, such people will spill all sorts of top-secret information about their organization to protect themselves.”

The man trembled while prostrating himself.

“I, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you everything I know, so please, just spare my life…!”

The man raised his head and pleaded with a sycophantic expression.

“Of course.”

I gave the man a benevolent smile.

“If you honestly reveal everything, I won’t kill you.”

The man swallowed hard.

“W, what proof do I have that you won’t kill me…”

“I swear on my mana, my sword, and the name of Sein Vinosh.”

For a swordsman, an oath made on their mana, their sword, and Sein Vinosh is an oath of conviction that must be kept.

Even though nothing bad would happen if I broke this oath.

Swordsmen are a race that lives and dies by their convictions.

They would never break a promise made through this oath.

“T, thank you. Thank you!”

The man bowed his head again.

Knowing the meaning of a swordsman’s oath.

If he told the truth, he could survive.

It was a thank you of joy coming from that conviction.

“Enough with the thanks. In that time…”

“Y, yes. Of course. I’ll explain everything…”

That’s when it happened.

Whoosh-!

Something flew from afar.

Silver light piercing through the darkness.

A throwing weapon that shone particularly brightly under the moonlight.

“Y, you fools! Stop! He’s not an opponent you can win against…!”

It was a throwing weapon thrown by the four guards who were watching from 50 meters away.

‘…Tsk. I spared him for nothing.’

I was well aware of the guards located 50 meters away.

I knew, but I didn’t bother dealing with them.

‘If I do that, I won’t be able to get information about their base.’

I was planning to track down the fleeing men and gather information about their base.

But I didn’t expect them to rush in without thinking.

‘So, they do have some camaraderie.’

Trash who would kill innocent citizens without a second thought for their own gain…

Disgusting. It’s so disgusting that I feel like throwing up.

‘Fine. If you want to die that badly, I’ll kill you.’

I reached out my right hand towards the throwing weapons.

Then, using the principle of reverse flow, I emitted mana in the opposite direction of the mana’s action, bringing the kinetic energy acting on the daggers to zero.

“It seems there were more bugs hiding.”

Then, I grabbed the stopped throwing weapons and threw them back in the direction they came from.

Thud! Thud!

The sound of daggers piercing flesh echoed from all directions.

The four guards also lost their lives.

They left this world without knowing how they died.

“An unexpected interruption cut our conversation short.”

The man who was kneeling had turned even paler.

“Y, you’re definitely a Mind-grade…”

“…”

I left the misunderstanding that I was too lazy to correct as it was, and glared at the man with an even more murderous aura.

“Let me tell you in advance, my patience isn’t very long.”

The man let out a muffled scream and opened his mouth with a desperate expression.

“W, what should I start with? I’ll tell you whatever you’re curious about.”

“Then, let’s start with why you attacked us.”

I squatted down and smiled at the man while making eye contact.

“Please don’t say you don’t know. If you don’t even know this much, it means you’re worthless.”

The man’s lips trembled as he shook his head frantically.

“N, no way. I know. Of course, I know. Yes. I, I’ll explain everything.”

The man’s struggle to survive began.

* * *

After that, the man’s explanation, which was short if short and long if long, continued.

Why they attacked us.

What kind of organization they belonged to.

And that something was going on at the Rid Furniture Factory.

The man revealed everything he knew.

“T, that’s all. That’s all I know.”

“You don’t know anything more about what’s happening at the Rid Furniture Factory?”

“I, I don’t know! I really don’t know! Only executives know more than this! I’m just a mid-level subordinate…!”

“…”

“I, it’s true! That’s all I know! Please believe me!”

I stared at the man for about 3 seconds.

Staring into the man’s abyss.

Focusing my gaze on the mana of the abyss contained within the man’s eyes.

Listening to the voice of the mana that filled the man’s surroundings.

‘It’s true!’

‘I’m wronged!’

‘I told the truth!’

The surrounding mana was asserting the man’s innocence.

The mana in the man’s abyss was asserting its purity.

In other words, everything the man said was true.

“It seems you really don’t know anything more.”

“Yes, yes! I really don’t know!”

I took my eyes off the man and stood up.

“Alright. I’ll believe you.”

The man slowly raised his head as I stood up.

“S, so that means…”

“Yes. I keep my promises.”

I turned around.

“As promised, I won’t kill you.”

“Ah, th, thank you! Thank you!”

The man hurriedly got up.

His eyes darted around.

He seemed to be thinking about how to survive and avoid the organization’s pursuit after surviving this ordeal.

“T, then, I’ll be going now…”

Just as the man was about to say he was leaving, as if he was impatient.

Swish!

A thin octagonal shield formed around the man’s neck.

“Uh…?”

The man let out a weak exclamation as if he sensed something was wrong.

That was the man’s last words.

Sliiiide-!

The man’s head slid down the translucent octagonal shield, as if on a slide.

The man’s head and body separated, and he died.

“As promised, I didn’t kill you.”

Behind the man’s corpse, Soonchan slowly walked over.

He looked down at the man with a deadly expression, as if looking down at a bug.

He didn’t seem to have any remorse for killing a person.

Rather, it was as if killing was now familiar to him.

That was the kind of expression he had.

“Good work.”

“Good work, my foot.”

Soonchan turned his gaze away from the corpse he had dealt with and looked at me.

“You don’t throw up anymore?”

“Hey, that was a long time ago.”

Soonchan flared up.

“Now, when I kill villains, I don’t hesitate.”

Soonchan lowered his head.

His eyes, filled with regret, were striking.

“I’ve realized with my own body that keeping pests alive only increases the number of victims.”

“…”

Adela looked at Soonchan with a pitiful expression.

“…Hmm.”

Aslan looked at Soonchan with a very meaningful expression.

He seemed to be deep in thought.

“What’s with the sudden change in atmosphere?”

Mimir said with a displeased expression.

She didn’t like the strange atmosphere that had formed, even though things had gone well.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…”

Soonchan scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

“Alright, let’s organize the information we’ve gathered.”

His voice tone was higher than usual, perhaps to somehow break the suddenly darkened atmosphere.

“What’s there to organize?”

I said in response to Soonchan’s actions.

“It’s not a complicated situation to organize.”

“Ah, is that so? I guess.”

Soonchan scratched his cheek as if he was embarrassed.

“For the past year and a half, chimera research using monsters has been underway at the Rip Furniture Factory. That’s it.”

Some outline had been established.