The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 364

The dragon’s eyes were fully open.

The amount of mana emanating from its body was greater than any I had ever witnessed.

‘You’ve got some nerve. Coming here on your own accord,’ Marco sneered, standing before the dragon.

His face was filled with a look of satisfaction, reveling in the dragon’s immense power.

‘Seeing the dragon in person, are you starting to regret it a little? Little hero of Korea?’

Of course, he knew who I was.

I hadn’t bothered to change my face with a persona, so it was no surprise he recognized me.

‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’

Marco pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, placed it in his mouth, and lit it with magic.

‘Hmm. Has the dragon’s majesty left you speechless?’

He chuckled again, the cigarette dangling from his lips.

It was the reaction and expression of a villain who had gotten his hands on the nuclear launch codes.

‘One thing. I’ll ask you this,’ I said, looking at Marco.

‘Did you feed your subordinates to the dragon?’

Marco’s eyes narrowed.

His lips curved into a crescent shape.

He licked his lips with a look of amusement.

‘I’ve heard rumors, but you have a good sense. Or is it good eyesight? Shin Ha-yul, the owner of the divine eye.’

Marco stared directly into my eyes.

‘Yes. You’re right. All the subordinates gathered here were sacrificed as offerings to restore the dragon’s power.’

I looked past Marco at the dragon, still standing there blankly.

Even after looking at it again, the amount of mana was immense.

The massive mana within its body was so great that it was hard to call it incomplete.

So far, there was nothing particularly unusual.

After all, it was natural for a dragon to possess that much mana.

The unusual thing was the nature of the mana it possessed.

It wasn’t the dragon’s inherent mana, but a mana that seemed to be a mixture of hundreds of different types.

The mana of the hundreds of people I had sensed outside the building earlier was all within the dragon’s body.

‘…Are you out of your mind?’

All of Marco’s subordinates who were in this building had been eaten by the dragon.

They were thrown alive into the dragon’s stomach, becoming living mana stones, supplements for the dragon’s mana.

‘Why are you so angry? They weren’t even your subordinates.’

Marco took a deep breath with the cigarette in his mouth.

Whoosh-

The air filled with smoke from his exhale.

‘Isn’t it my prerogative how I use my subordinates?’

Marco smiled like a devil through the swirling smoke.

His expression showed not a shred of remorse for his subordinates.

‘They’re all probably happy. They’ve become one with the dragon, even if only for a moment, in exchange for their worthless lives.’

He chuckled, holding the cigarette between his index and middle fingers.

It was such a cliché villain’s laugh.

‘Heh heh. Look who’s being a hypocrite. Your expression is quite a sight.’

Marco sneered again at my expression.

He seemed to find my anger amusing.

Marco threw the half-smoked cigarette on the floor.

He crushed the still-lit cigarette with his foot and put his hands in his pockets.

‘Hoo. Shall we end the small talk here?’

As if reacting to Marco, the dragon moved.

‘The mana you cost me, I’ll just recover by feeding you to it.’

The dragon’s eyes sharpened.

It had completely locked onto me as its target.

‘Go. Go and devour him.’

The dragon spread its wings wide.

Kwakwakwakwang-!

The massive wings spread out, turning the interior of the building into a mess.

The underground space was designed to be twice as large as a large stadium, but it was no more than a cradle in the face of the red dragon’s enormity.

Kuoohhhhhhh-!

The dragon roared.

A roar filled with mana.

That roar shook the air and the ground.

The fear was focused intensely on me.

The fear was so intense that goosebumps rose all over my body.

Even in its incomplete state, its majesty was this great.

A dragon was indeed a dragon.

‘Is it impossible to fight it 1:1?’

This one was definitely stronger than the dragon I had encountered at the Rid furniture factory before.

It was not an opponent I could defeat with my current skills.

If I fought it 1:1, I would definitely lose.

However, that was only if I fought it 1:1.

If it was 2:1, the story would be a little different.

Whirr-!

True to its name, the red dragon unleashed fire magic.

The flames bloomed all around.

I took a small breath as I watched the magic.

‘Mimir.’

At the same time, I called out my partner’s name.

‘Yeah.’

Mimir replied briefly.

That was enough.

No further questions were needed between us.

Both Mimir and I extended our right hands at the same time.

As if we were one body.

With the exact same angle and speed, we raised our right hands towards the flames that the red dragon had unleashed.

And.

The moment our right hands pointed at its magic.

‘Nullify.’

‘Nullify.’

Clang!

Its magic shattered into pieces without leaving a trace.

‘…?’

Marco’s eyes widened.

He looked surprised that the dragon’s magic could be so easily neutralized.

He tried not to show it, but he was clearly flustered.

‘…Did I use too little power?’

But that surprise was only momentary.

Marco quickly regained his composure.

The magic the dragon had just used was not its full power.

It was just a magic with slightly reduced power, intended to capture me alive.

There was no need to be flustered just because that magic was blocked.

That seemed to be what he was thinking.

‘Let’s see if you can block this too.’

Marco gave the dragon a new command.

The dragon’s aura became even more ferocious.

Fire, lightning, and wind.

Three types of magic were cast simultaneously.

All of them were high-powered magic that I could not block with my current abilities.

They were magic befitting the name of a dragon.

‘Die.’

Marco lowered his right hand, which he had raised up.

As if that was the signal, the dragon unleashed its magic.

Three types of magic flew towards me.

Mimir and I extended our right hands again.

No, this time not only our right hands but also our left hands.

We spread both hands wide towards the magic that was flying in a wide range.

And once again.

‘Nullify.’

‘Nullify.’

Following the principle of nullification, we released mana.

Clang, clang, clang!!

The three types of magic shattered at the same time.

The three elemental magics instantly became remnants of mana, scattering in the air.

Marco’s eyes widened like saucers.

He looked surprised that the magic could be so easily neutralized.

‘Don’t you know?’

I said, staring directly at Marco.

‘Magic doesn’t work on me.’

It was widely known that I could nullify magic.

It was a fact that became known to the world during the Olympiad three years ago.

‘You can nullify even the dragon’s magic? That’s impossible…’

Marco said, his eyes still wide open.

‘Weren’t you unable to nullify magic that exceeded your power?’

Marco’s eyes, which were already wide, widened even further.

‘Could it be that your power is on par with a dragon?’

Marco’s expression became serious.

‘You seem to know quite a bit about my power.’

In fact, it was only natural.

In the past, the Italian team that participated in the Olympiad was sponsored by the Mafia.

Since Marco was a high-ranking member of the Mafia at that time, it was only natural that he would be well-versed in my power.

‘…’

Marco’s eyes were filled with caution.

The look of disdain for me had completely disappeared.

‘Red Dragon.’

As if he would not exchange another word with me.

As if conversation was a luxury.

He simply called out to the red dragon in a cold voice.

‘Burn him to ashes with your breath.’

Breath.

The dragon’s unique power, the force that made dragons what they were in the mythical age.

‘Successor.’

‘I know. I’m not going to block it.’

A merciless force that I could never block with my current abilities.

Massive mana began to gather in the dragon’s mouth.

A breath with a much higher density than the one I had faced at the Rid furniture factory was about to be born.

I could neither avoid nor block that breath.

Its firing speed and dispersion speed far exceeded my own.

‘As expected. I can’t win 1:1 no matter what I do.’

That’s why I said I could never win 1:1.

I had no way to counter its breath.

‘But.’

Kuuuuuung-!

The breath was rapidly completing.

I moved my mana as I watched the breath.

‘This fight is 2:1.’

Note that it’s not 2 because I included Mimir.

I am 1.

The 2 is over there.

‘Hoo.’

My mana pulsed.

Mimir didn’t show any movement.

The magic I was about to use this time was not the type of magic that Mimir could assist with.

Mimir was just quietly watching me.

‘If the Red Dragon is carrying the burden of Marco, I can win.’

My mana momentarily stopped all movement.

The center of reverse and order.

A stopped world that did not lean in any direction.

‘Complete neutrality.’

Everything in the world stopped.

Marco, the dragon, even the dust swirling around.

Everything stopped.

Tuk, tuk.

I walked through that stopped world.

Slowly, at a leisurely pace.

The place I arrived at was right next to where Marco was standing.

As soon as I arrived at that position, I immediately released the complete neutrality.

‘…!’

Marco’s eyes widened.

He was surprised to see me suddenly move right in front of him.

Marco pointed at me with his finger, his lips trembling.

Gogogogogogo-!

The sound of the red dragon’s breath boiling up could be heard right behind me.

Soon, that breath would be completed and would be unleashed at me.

‘…!’

At that moment, Marco’s expression twisted.

As if he had realized the situation he was in, he shouted with a desperate expression.

‘Stop!’

The breath that had been boiling in the dragon’s mouth stopped.

It had canceled the use of the breath at Marco’s command.

‘You…’

Marco glared at me, grinding his teeth.

I was now standing right next to Marco.

What would happen if the dragon fired its breath at me in this situation?

Marco would also be engulfed in the breath and die.

That’s why he stopped the dragon’s breath.

‘Well done.’

I made eye contact with Marco, who was glaring at me, gave a small smile, and then immediately moved away.

At the same time as I kicked off the ground, I concentrated all my mana into my right hand.

Then, I brought that hand to the right wing of the dragon, which was standing there blankly.

‘Ignis.’

‘Ignis.’

With the activation words of Mimir and me, my mana turned into flames and burned the red dragon’s wing.

No matter how much of a red dragon it was, it could not be immune to the primordial flames of myth.

The red dragon’s right wing turned to ashes.

If the red dragon had been in its normal state, if it had been covered in mana all over its body.

I would not have been able to take its wing so easily.

However, now it was in a state where it was gathering all its mana in its mouth.

Moreover, it was carrying a huge penalty for forcibly stopping that mana.

Its wing was completely defenseless.

That’s why I was able to take its wing so easily.

‘The Red Dragon is certainly strong.’

Leaving behind the red dragon’s scales that were burning and falling to the ground.

I shifted my gaze towards Marco, who was glaring at me with a stiff expression.

‘But the current Red Dragon is weak.’

As I said, I cannot defeat the Red Dragon 1:1 with my current abilities.

I can somehow block the magic that the dragon uses with ‘Nullify’.

But I can’t block the breath, which is the dragon’s unique power and a mystery that only dragons can enjoy, no matter what I do.

If it had been 1:1, I would have melted away and died from its breath.

But this is not 1:1, but 2:1.

The Red Dragon is carrying the burden of Marco.

‘As long as you are acting as the Red Dragon’s suppressor, the Red Dragon cannot be my opponent.’

If I use Marco, I can block the breath.

Marco is my shield and my suppressor.

‘Thank you. For doing the foolish thing of trying to control the Red Dragon, which is not your place.’

This is why I was sure of victory.

‘Thanks to you, I have a chance to win.’

The Red Dragon, controlled by an incompetent leader like Marco, is not that scary.

‘You…’

Marco’s expression twisted in anger.