The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 400

The sudden appearance of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Everyone showed signs of surprise at the unexpected arrival of reinforcements.

‘Sein Vinoche, control your expression. This is not a scene where you should be surprised.’

The Black Magic King advised Sein.

Sein’s shoulders twitched.

The Black Magic King was right.

This situation was not one where Sein should be surprised.

‘The Nine-Tailed Fox is your partner right now. It doesn’t make sense for you to be surprised by the support you called for.’

Currently, Sein was acting as the successor of the Vaitener lineage.

Being surprised by the appearance of the Nine-Tailed Fox made no sense.

Having quickly grasped the situation, Sein swiftly erased his expression.

‘……I need to calm down.’

Following Sein, Elena also began to manage her expression.

Circumstantially, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s support meant that this side had planned it in advance.

They had called for pre-arranged reinforcements, so being surprised was out of the question.

If they continued to show surprise, Veil would become suspicious.

Emotion instantly vanished from Elena’s face.

The same was true for Aslan.

He grasped the current situation at a similar time as Sein and Elena, and adopted a poker face.

It was then.

‘Everyone, please don’t show it on your faces and just listen.’

A voice echoed in the minds of the three.

Shin Hayul’s voice.

The eyes of the three twitched again.

‘I know how the current situation is unfolding. I saw everything using the pipe that Mimir connected to Elena.’

The three maintained their poker faces as much as possible and listened to Shin Hayul’s words.

‘Veil Stoll is currently convinced that Sein is the successor of the Vaitener lineage. I want to keep that misunderstanding as long as possible.’

They wanted to maintain Veil’s misconception for as long as possible.

That would increase their chances of winning.

‘Therefore, I don’t plan to reveal myself.’

If Shin Hayul were to reveal himself now, Veil Stoll would immediately realize that Shin Hayul was the true successor of the Vaitener lineage.

To continue this advantageous situation, that had to be avoided.

‘Of course, it’s not like I’m going to stand by and do nothing. No matter how much Miho lends her strength, it would be difficult to face Veil Stoll with the current forces without me.’

The analysis of the war situation through Mimir was already complete.

Even with Miho joining, victory could not be guaranteed.

To overcome this situation, Shin Hayul’s intervention was essential.

‘You’re all probably wondering if there’s a way to intervene without being seen by Veil Stoll.’

The eyes of the three flickered slightly.

Their inner thoughts had been read, and they had reacted without realizing it.

‘You don’t have to worry about that. I have something in mind.’

Shin Hayul spoke with a confident voice, as if telling them not to worry.

‘Then, I assume you’ve understood the general outline, and we’ll move on to the detailed operational instructions.’

Shin Hayul paused slightly and said,

‘All three of you. Please move as I instruct.’

Shin Hayul began to give instructions to each of them.

* * *

While Shin Hayul was contacting everyone, Veil was observing the Nine-Tailed Fox.

‘Fortunately, it hasn’t regained its power from its prime.’

He knew more about the Nine-Tailed Fox’s power than anyone else present.

If the Nine-Tailed Fox had regained its power from its prime, there would have been no chance of victory.

In its current incomplete state, it could never win.

‘There’s no need to revise the plan.’

That was why he had been focusing on vigilance.

He stopped his actions and focused all his attention on exploration, putting all his efforts into analyzing the Nine-Tailed Fox’s power.

To secure a more certain victory. He was crouching down for the moment.

‘At that level, it’s manageable enough.’

The total time spent exploring was 37 seconds.

After careful analysis, he was able to confirm that the Nine-Tailed Fox had lost some of its power.

The advantage was still on his side.

He just needed to deal with the Nine-Tailed Fox as well.

“That’s enough of the staring contest.”

Veil, having finished assessing the situation, began to act.

“Now, it’s time for you to die.”

He moved his mana, preparing death magic.

“First, the Nine-Tailed Fox. You’re first.”

His first target was the Nine-Tailed Fox.

He would eliminate the most difficult opponent first.

“Next is Elena. Then Aslan. And finally, Sein Vinoche.”

A black aura began to gather, forming a grotesque-looking magic bullet that embodied death, floating above Veil’s palm.

Swee-ee-ee-ee-eek!

Tentacle-like appendages extended from the magic bullet.

The tentacles, with the magic bullet as their core, flew towards the Nine-Tailed Fox, each drawing a unique trajectory.

Bouncing off the walls, bouncing in the air, changing their trajectories.

In less than a second, the Nine-Tailed Fox was surrounded by tentacles.

Crack!

As the Nine-Tailed Fox was surrounded, Veil clenched the orb tightly.

The orb was crushed with a cracking sound.

At that moment, the tentacles contracted.

Like a spring that was fully contracted before being released.

They crouched down as much as possible.

“Go.”

And the next moment,

Swee-ee-ee-ee-ee-eek!

The tentacles shot out like springs.

Thud thud thud thud!

A swarm of tentacles bounced off the ground, refracted in the air, and flew towards them.

It was already difficult to deal with them just by bouncing irregularly and changing their trajectories freely.

They even split every time they bounced.

“Proliferating Thorns.”

The magic that Veil Stoll frequently used.

The Proliferating Thorns had reappeared in the modern era after ten thousand years.

Oooooooo-!

Seeing the rapidly approaching tentacles, the Nine-Tailed Fox roared.

Whirr, whirrrrr!

In response to Miho’s cry, the flames of the soul, the soul fire, rose up.

To counter the approaching tentacles, she compressed the soul fire.

And then released it.

Whirrrrrrrrrrr!

The soul fire was released in the form of a dome.

Tsss-!

The first tentacles to rush in touched the sphere created by the soul fire and were extinguished.

The next tentacle, and the next tentacle as well.

Countless tentacles touched the soul fire, burned, and were extinguished.

Thus began the power struggle between Veil and the Nine-Tailed Fox.

The black magic of attack, ‘Proliferating Thorns,’ with the property of infinite proliferation.

And the divine beast’s flame, ‘Soul Fire,’ with the property of burning evil and souls.

Magics that were each other’s counters clashed incessantly.

The compatibility was equal.

This battle would be decided purely by their ‘power’.

“I think I made a mistake.”

At that moment, Veil muttered softly.

For a moment, it sounded as if he was regretting his actions.

But the confidence in his voice proved that it was a mutter far from ‘regret’.

Veil’s words did not mean ‘I underestimated my opponent too much.’

“You’re much weaker than I expected.”

It was a statement that implied he had overestimated his opponent’s power.

Veil scoffed and poured in even more mana.

The movement of the tentacles became even faster.

The speed of bouncing, the speed of splitting, even the speed of flying.

All magical elements had evolved to the next level.

“Go back to sleep. You damned divine beast.”

It was an overwhelming display of violence.

Miho’s soul fire began to weaken rapidly.

At this rate, the soul fire barrier would be breached within 5 seconds, and Miho would have to face the tentacles with her bare body.

“Dimension Gate!”

Aslan, having quickly grasped that the situation was becoming unfavorable, used space magic.

His target was the Nine-Tailed Fox.

He was trying to move the Nine-Tailed Fox out of the attack range of the Proliferating Thorns.

“I told you. Aslan Polohamruin. You are to stay quiet.”

At that moment, Veil raised his other hand.

The hand he raised towards Aslan.

From that hand, a faint black mana emanated.

It was as fast as it was faint.

Veil’s mana reached Aslan’s body in an instant.

“Mana is a luxury for you right now.”

At that moment, the mana that filled Aslan’s surroundings began to disappear.

Veil’s mana had erased the other mana.

As the mana disappeared, Aslan’s magic was canceled.

“Stay there, wallowing in helplessness and despair. You substandard Aslan Polohamruin.”

Aslan frowned.

He was momentarily enraged by the expression ‘substandard’.

“……It’s true, but it doesn’t feel good.”

Ji Sunchan had been insulted, but for some reason, he felt like he was the one being insulted, so he didn’t feel good.

“If I had heard that from you in your prime, maybe. But hearing it from a fool who can’t even see through such a simple feint, it makes me feel very bad.”

“…….”

This time, Veil’s brow furrowed.

It wasn’t that he was particularly offended by Aslan’s sarcasm.

Veil’s expression had become serious because of the word ‘feint’.

‘Could it be that with that body……?’

Veil’s eyes sharpened as he turned his gaze towards Elena.

“Thorn… tree…”

At that moment, Elena’s magic was completed.

“Lantern!”

A thorn tree surged up from below the canceled Dimension Gate.

It broke through the Nine-Tailed Fox’s soul fire and collided with the tentacles.

The thorn tree lantern, with the property of absorbing mana, began to absorb the mana of the tentacles.

The ‘Proliferating Thorns’ began to lose momentum rapidly.

At this rate, it would be completely neutralized within 30 seconds.

The first engagement could be considered a victory for the group.

“……You fool.”

But that was an empty victory.

The Nine-Tailed Fox held out, Aslan drew attention to eliminate variables, and Elena provided support.

Normally, it would have been an excellent combination.

“You used all your power to protect yourself.”

But the situation was a bit different now.

Elena shouldn’t have provided support now.

Instead of focusing on support, she should have conserved her power to prepare for a possible surprise attack.

At least, she should have saved enough power to respond to the magic that Veil was casting without incantation or movement.

Sss….

Veil shot out mana.

A basic death-attribute magic that required no prior action or preparation.

It flew towards Elena’s body.

“That’s one down.”

A light magic that had no advantages other than speed because it didn’t require prior preparation.

Normally, Elena would have easily deflected such magic, but she couldn’t now.

Elena was now in such a depleted state that she couldn’t even respond to such basic magic.

“……You fool. Do you think such a trivial attack will work?”

Aslan shouted as if he found it ridiculous.

Sein Vinoche would surely block such an attack.

Thinking that, he was about to sneer.

“You’re the fool.”

Veil laughed as if he found it ridiculous.

Laughing, he raised his right hand.

‘His index finger……?’

Veil’s raised right hand was missing its index finger.

“That magic contains my body.”

The magic bullet he had just fired was created using Veil’s own index finger.

“It’s not that I cut it off, but that I converted it into mana, so it still acts as my body.”

Aslan’s eyes widened.

He had realized what Veil was aiming for.

“That’s right.”

Veil grinned.

“That magic is part of my body. Sein Vinoche. You are forbidden by the restriction to touch that magic at all.”

One of the wild cards Veil had prepared.

A combination of body transformation magic and death-attribute magic, prepared to exploit Sein Vinoche’s weakness.

It flew towards Elena.

“Elena!”

Aslan shouted.

If that was true, then Sein, who was protecting Elena in front, was nothing more than a scarecrow.

Sein wouldn’t be able to block that attack, and Elena would lose her life.

Veil’s lips curled up even further.

Watching the rapidly approaching magic bullet, he felt joy.

‘My victory is certain.’

It was when he was certain of his victory.

“……You dullard.”

Sein raised his sword high.

“Did you think you were the only one who had a trump card prepared?”

Whoooosh-!

Mana concentrated behind Sein.

“……!”

Oso-so-so-!

The moment he faced that mana, Veil’s spine tingled.

A ruthlessly violent mana.

A mana that seemed like it would be the embodiment of destruction.

It enveloped Sein’s entire body.

“I, Sein Vinoche…….”

The aura of destruction that had penetrated Sein’s body.

It instantly penetrated even the lock located in Sein’s core.

“There is nothing that cannot be cut.”

Crack, crack, crack!

The lock began to break slowly.

The ‘restriction’ called ‘Black Tongue’ was breaking.

“Remember this.”

Swoosh-!

Sein’s sword moved from top to bottom.

A simple vertical cut.

A basic swordsmanship that was incomparable to the Heart Sword [a powerful sword technique].

Swoosh-!

That simple sword cut Veil’s magic bullet.

Along with the magic bullet, it cut Veil’s body in half.

Crack, thud!

The lock, which had been completely cracked, began to shatter.

The mana surrounding the lock took on an even more destructive aura.

‘Dissolutio.’

The mythical magic of destruction.

Dissolutio.

A myth that destroys everything.

It slowly began to destroy Sein’s shackles.