The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 370

The next day.

I headed to the prison to meet Marco, who was being held in custody.

“Oh ho. I heard a new visitation was scheduled just three hours later, and I wondered what kind of big shot would come. It was you, Shin Hayul.”

Marco, completely restrained with his hands, feet, neck, and body, looked at me and grinned.

“It’s understandable for you. After all, you’re the one who captured me.”

Even in a prison uniform that allowed him no freedom other than moving his eyes and mouth, he wore a relaxed smile.

“You look comfortable.”

If you were wearing those clothes, you’d be anxious, but there wasn’t a trace of anxiety on his face.

“This outfit? Yes. I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it’s surprisingly comfortable. How about it? Would you like to try it on? It would be a good experience.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t have that kind of inclination.”

“Is that so? That’s a shame. I wanted to let you experience this feeling too.”

A truly comfortable expression.

His eyes were full of contempt as he looked at me.

‘He thinks he’s the boss.’

It’s certain.

This guy thinks he’s in complete control.

‘What are you going to do to me after catching me?’

That expression is the face of someone who thinks that way.

“So. When are you going to release me?”

One corner of Marco’s mouth slowly curled upwards.

A lopsided smile, like a seesaw.

It was a nasty smile, full of the intention to make the other person feel bad.

“Who are you talking about releasing?”

“There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Marco chuckled and gave a sly smile.

“I guess you’re trying to shake me up a bit and add a few more favorable conditions for your side. But that kind of petty trickery won’t work on me.”

‘I’m already one step ahead of you. So, drop those petty schemes.’

That’s what his expression seemed to say.

“The conditions I presented yesterday are my final concession and compromise. I have no intention of adding anything more.”

The conditions presented yesterday.

If you release me, I will at least solve the dragon’s rampage.

So, release me.

Was that it?

“Let me tell you in advance. If you put a restriction on me or assign a supervisor to me, I will not stop the dragon’s rampage. Rather than being used by you, I will choose to perish together.”

Marco’s eyes were filled with genuine murderous intent.

‘Rather than being used by you, I’d rather die.’

That was the resolute will that could be seen in his expression and eyes.

“So, don’t even think about making futile proposals, just release me. If you do, you can at least prevent the world from being destroyed.”

Marco chuckled again and gave a sly laugh.

“Think carefully. Facing a rampaging dragon and facing a dragon I control. Which is better?”

Marco was certain.

That we would release him.

He thought we had no choice but to release him.

“Is that the end of your delusions?”

It was a very ridiculous certainty.

“If you’re done, can I speak now?”

“I told you. There’s no need to beat around the bush. You’ll have no choice but to release me anyway…”

“Where did you get the dragon’s soul?”

Marco’s brow furrowed.

His expression seemed to say, ‘Why are you suddenly talking such nonsense?’

“There’s no way that third-rate villains like you could have found and obtained something as great as a dragon’s soul yourselves. Who did you receive it from?”

“…”

Marco remained silent.

Is he silent because he’s upset by my saying he’s a third-rate villain?

Or is he silent because he’s flustered by my question, ‘Who did you receive it from?’

I don’t know yet.

“If you received it, what were the conditions? What did the other party ask for in exchange for the dragon’s soul?”

“…I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about.”

Marco scoffed.

“We found the dragon’s soul ourselves while exploring the ruins. We obtained it from the remains of a dragon that was sleeping in the underground ruins.”

“Dragon’s remains?”

“Yes. Even though it was just bones, it was quite a magnificent sight.”

“…”

It’s a lie.

There’s no sign of it on his face, but I’m sure of it.

‘There’s no way there would be any remains of a dragon.’

Dragons were sealed in the gaps of dimensions by the gods, with their souls intact.

But he’s saying they found the souls in the remains of a dragon that was sleeping deep underground?

That’s impossible.

That’s a fake.

He’s just making up the most plausible story he can.

‘He definitely received the dragon’s soul from someone.’

It was the moment my hypothesis became a truth.

“Hmm. I see. I understand.”

That’s all I needed to know.

I slowly got up from my seat.

“That’s the end of our conversation. Go back to your cell.”

“…What?”

For the first time, an emotion of bewilderment appeared on Marco’s face.

“I, is that the end? What about releasing me?”

“…Are you having those delusions again?”

I sighed and pretended not to know, answering.

“Get a grip. There’s no way we’d release you.”

Marco frowned, looking agitated.

“If you leave me like this, you’ll face 47 rampaging dragons. Is that okay with you?!”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

I picked at my ear with a look of utter annoyance.

“Even if they’re rampaging, they’re just degraded versions that don’t even have 10% of their original power. What’s the problem?”

“…”

Marco’s eyelids twitched for a moment.

He was desperately trying to maintain a blank expression, but he couldn’t hide the momentary bewilderment that slipped out.

“That’s a delusion. What makes you think the remaining dragons are degraded…”

“The dragons you recreated have the characteristic that their power varies depending on the amount of mana charged.”

Marco’s expression changed noticeably.

“The red dragon I fought in Florence had a mana charge of 30%. Gathering all the magic stones in Florence and sacrificing all of my subordinates only got me 30%.”

The blank expression began to crumble.

“How many of the 47 dragons do you think have a charge of more than 30%?”

‘How do you know that…?’

He seemed to have given up on hiding his inner thoughts, his expression saying just that.

“At most, 10%. Most of them are probably left with less than 5% charged. Is there any reason to be afraid of 47 of those guys?”

“…”

His eyes trembled like there was an earthquake.

It was the expression and gaze of someone who had completely given up.

“I think you understand now. There’s no reason for us to release you.”

I turned my head, as if I couldn’t be bothered to say more.

“If you understand, go back to your cell quietly and prepare yourself. Your future life is going to be quite difficult.”

I said it in a firm tone, as if cutting off the conversation, hoping he would react.

“W, wait.”

Then, Marco shouted.

His expression and voice were quite urgent.

“I, I want to make a new proposal to you!”

“A proposal. Well, I wonder what value there is in a proposal from someone who made such nonsense proposals.”

I answered with a sneer, in an annoyed tone.

“N, no, listen! If you listen, you’ll change your mind!”

A mechanical sound echoed from the restraints binding Marco’s body.

Pieces of cloth, like tentacles, slowly rose from the restraints.

They covered Marco’s eyes.

He was starting to prepare to return.

“I don’t want to listen. Goodbye. We won’t be seeing each other again.”

Just as Marco’s eyes were completely covered, and the remaining cloth was about to cover his mouth, he said,

“Hey, transfer!”

Marco shouted urgently.

“I, you said you were curious about the person who transferred the dragon’s soul to me! That information… Ugh!”

His words were cut off mid-sentence.

A special piece of cloth that popped out of the restraints completely blocked his mouth.

Only the sound of ‘Ugh, ugh’ was repeatedly heard from Marco’s mouth.

Just as Marco’s body was about to move out of the visiting room,

“Wait a moment.”

At my words, his body stopped.

To be precise, the movement of the chair that was moving him out stopped.

“Could you release his mouth again?”

As if responding to my words, the cloth around his mouth quickly loosened.

“Y, you would do that. Y, you were curious about this!”

Marco shouted triumphantly, having regained the freedom of his mouth.

“Okay, continue what you were saying. What about the person who transferred it?”

“Before I tell you, promise me. If I tell you this, you’ll release me.”

“Do you think it’s possible to release you with such trivial information?”

“…”

Marco closed his mouth.

His expression was thoughtful.

“I just thought you were too stupid, so I wondered if there was a mastermind controlling you. That’s why I asked that question.”

It’s a lie.

I approached with a clear intention and said those words.

“I came here today to sneer at you. The question I asked earlier was just a formality. Nothing more, nothing less.”

This is also a lie.

I came here today to hear about the source of the dragon’s soul from this man.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I created this meeting to obtain this information.

“Nonsense. There’s no reason to ask about information you’re not curious about…”

“Because it was information I wasn’t curious about, I just listened to a word, answered roughly, and didn’t ask any further.”

“That’s…”

Earlier.

I didn’t respond to Marco’s answer, ‘I got it from the remains.’

That’s the reason.

To pretend I wasn’t interested.

“So, stop talking nonsense about releasing me in exchange for that.”

“…”

Marco bit his lip.

It seems like he’s been properly caught.

“The value of that information is only enough to give you some convenience. That’s all.”

“…”

Marco was silent.

He must be very disheartened, knowing that the weapon he thought was his last hope was just a useless piece of junk.

“Also, if there’s a mastermind controlling you, your crime might be reduced a little. Because you did what that person told you to do.”

“…How much lighter can my crime get…”

“Well, even if your sentence is reduced, it won’t change the fact that you’ll rot in prison for the rest of your life…”

I spoke coldly, putting as much anxiety into my voice as possible.

“At least you won’t be imprisoned on the 6th floor of Berlin Prison.”

“…!”

A special prison in Germany.

Berlin Prison.

A living hell that makes criminals rot for the rest of their lives, neither alive nor dead.

A place that all criminals fear.

Shudder, shudder.

The moment that name was mentioned, Marco’s lips began to tremble violently.

“Why are you so surprised? After committing such a crime, did you think you wouldn’t go to Berlin Prison?”

“That’s…”

“The choice is yours. Whether you hold onto meaningless information until the end and regret it for the rest of your life on the 6th floor of Berlin Prison, or you sell out the mastermind behind you and avoid Berlin Prison.”

“I, I…”

Marco’s face was turning pale.

Seeing that expression, I cheered inwardly.

‘Got it.’

“A, alright. I’ll give you the information about the person who transferred the dragon’s soul to me.”

‘As expected.’

“I said it like this, but I don’t really know either. That man… didn’t even tell me his name, and disappeared.”

“Is it a man?”

“I, I’m not even sure if it’s a man or a woman.”

“How is that information?”

Someone whose gender is unknown.

Someone whose name is unknown.

There’s nothing that can be called information.

“If that’s all…”

It seems like there’s nothing more to talk about.

Just as I was about to say that.

“There’s one piece of definite information!”

Marco shouted.

“T, that guy is a black magician! And a high-ranking black magician who is at least above the 8th circle!”

“A black magician. That’s not really important information. Half of the criminals in this world are black magicians. Is that all?”

“That, that, so…”

Marco bit his lip.

He’s very desperate.

He’s determined to avoid the 6th floor of Berlin Prison at all costs.

That was the look he was giving off.

“It seems like there isn’t any. Then…”

“Ah!”

Then, Marco shouted.

“I, I remembered. Yes. Surely, a guy who seemed to be his subordinate called him something. I don’t know if it’s a name, a title, or a nickname…”

Marco said in a trembling voice.

“Stoll. They called him Lord Stoll…!”

“St… Stoll?”

My eyes widened in surprise.