The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 136

Kkyaaaaaaaaaaaak-!

With a chilling cry, the light wyvern Horus burst through the wall.

‘Bingo!’

Looking at him, I cheered inwardly.

‘It went according to plan.’

The light wyvern, Horus.

The dark wyvern, Darkness.

The two of them were in the great hollows, separated by only one wall.

During the first exploration, it was ambiguous, but after re-exploring the dark passage and the light passage, I was certain that the two hollows were adjacent.

‘And this is as expected.’

Just as light and darkness are at opposite points, these two monsters are also beings in opposition to each other.

What would happen if such monsters met?

I don’t think there’s a need to answer, but if I had to.

Kkiiiiiiiiiiiaaaak!

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang-!

They fight.

They fight like crazy.

They instantly forget about a nuisance intruder like me and fight as if to kill each other.

“Uwaaaah!”

With the clash of the two mythical species, a tremendous storm blew in.

Light and darkness collided, distorting mana [magical energy] and collapsing space.

‘Whether my prediction was right or not, I need to get out of here first!’

Like a shrimp getting crushed in a whale fight, I need to get as far away from those two as possible right now.

Otherwise, I’ll get caught in the aftermath and lose my life.

I quickly pushed off the ground and moved away from the two wyverns.

“Kuh!”

However, I soon had to stop.

‘Small… black hole?’

The collapsed space had turned into something like a black hole, and it began to pull my body in.

It was an anomaly caused by the extreme attraction of darkness and the repulsion of light.

Whoooooooooooooooom-!

The suction was so strong that even with all my strength, I could barely hold on.

No, I couldn’t even hold on.

My body was slowly being pulled into the gap in space.

If this continued, I would be sucked into that gap and die.

‘Even if that doesn’t happen, if I stay here, I’ll get caught in the crossfire of those two and die!’

The two wyverns were still shooting out light and darkness without a break.

So far, those attacks haven’t bounced in my direction, but it won’t stay like this forever.

I need to evacuate to a safe area as soon as possible.

‘Resonance!’

My Infinity Circle rotated at maximum speed.

The second Infinity Circle, the Ring of Resonance, emitted mana that enveloped my entire body.

With this, I can use magic that surpasses my current level for about 3 minutes.

‘Maximum output. Scorching Hell!’

Whirr, whirrrrrrrrrrr!

Blue flames engulfed my body.

‘Dahlia’s Scorching Hell, when she was a 5-circle user, didn’t have perfect explosion resistance, but if it’s me now…!’

If I use Scorching Hell now, with the power boosted by Resonance, I can raise the explosion resistance to the same level as fire resistance!

‘6-circle fire attribute magic.’

Led by the Ring of Resonance, the five Infinity Circles rotated even faster.

With the determination to bet everything on this one spell.

I poured everything I had into it.

‘Giga Explosion!’

A higher-level magic than Explosion.

It was cast right behind me.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-!

It exploded.

“Kuhhhhh!”

As expected of a spell using all my power, a tremendous explosion occurred.

The power was so great that even I, who had maximized fire and explosion resistance with Scorching Hell, felt pain.

It hurts, it’s hot.

The burns I’ve felt so far are nothing compared to this.

The pain is so intense that I feel like I’m about to lose consciousness.

‘But with this…!’

I bit my lip and opened my eyes. The scenery of the great hollow was passing by quickly. My body was flying through the air, and my vision was changing every moment.

‘Escape… success!’

The plan to escape using the explosive force of Giga Explosion was successful.

Thud! Thump!

At that moment, my body, which had been flying through the air, collided with the ground and rolled.

“Keuh!”

The sensation of the burns and heat wounds on my back scraping against the ground was indescribable.

It hurt so much that I almost fainted for real this time.

My body finally stopped after rolling on the ground a dozen times.

‘I have to get up…’

I gritted my teeth and got up.

My hands, pushing against the ground, felt like they were tearing apart, but I endured with my will.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-!

Kkiiiiiiiaaaaaak!

At that moment, light and darkness collided and exploded right near me.

Fortunately, I was a bit far away, so the explosion didn’t directly affect my body.

Whoooooooooooooooom-!

But the aftershock hit my body directly.

“Kuh!”

The torrent of irresistible force sent my body flying again.

Thud!

My body crashed into the wall.

“Ugh, ugh…”

But this time, thankfully, I didn’t experience the same pain as before.

Before, I couldn’t use magic due to the aftereffects of maximum output, so I rolled on the ground helplessly, but not now.

When I crashed into the wall, I managed to reduce the impact by using magic.

“Hah, hah.”

I knelt down on the ground.

With one knee bent, I tried to get up by placing both hands on the ground. But my legs wouldn’t listen.

‘……Did my leg bone break from that impact?’

Looking at my swollen right leg, it seems like it’s properly broken.

Crack.

I bit my teeth to forget the pain.

‘If my legs don’t move, I can just replace them with magic…!’

Even if my body is in tatters, my circles are still in top condition.

There’s still a long time before Resonance wears off.

I immediately moved my mana.

‘Telekinesis!’

An intangible force settled on my right leg.

Originally, it was a simple magic that could only apply force in a certain direction or apply pressure.

But it’s different when I use it.

My telekinesis became my new leg, moving my body.

‘A little more, just a little more…’

One step.

One step.

The more I got used to using telekinesis, the faster my walking speed became.

Kkirururururuk!

Kwaaaang!

I ignored the sounds of the two wyverns clashing behind me and quickly moved forward.

’10 meters ahead!’

The remaining distance to the destination was only 10 meters.

‘5 meters, 3 meters…’

I ran, trembling all over. And.

‘1 meter… 30 centimeters…’

Thud!

The huge door that I had been aiming for.

I arrived at the huge iron door located on the opposite side of the door I had entered.

‘Now, if I just open this…’

I can escape from here.

I used all my strength and mana to push the iron door.

Telekinesis, with a level and power comparable to when I used Giga Explosion earlier, became an intangible force and pushed the iron door.

However.

‘……It won’t open?’

The iron door didn’t open.

It didn’t even budge.

It was as if the time of this iron door was fixed.

‘Could it be that there’s a condition to opening the door?’

If it was because of a lack of power, the iron door would have moved even a little.

The fact that there isn’t even the slightest movement means that it’s not a door that can be opened with force.

In other words, to open this iron door, I need to fulfill some condition.

‘What’s the condition? There was nothing around that looked like a device to open this door. Then is there some kind of trigger? If so, what is that trigger?’

My thoughts accelerated at the speed of light. Using the Eye of Insight, which had already been opened, I quickly scanned the surroundings and gathered information.

However, I couldn’t obtain any useful information.

Since there was no new information, I couldn’t find a clue to the solution.

Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!

The breath of the light wyvern Horus grazed the dark wyvern Darkness and passed over my head.

The laser passed over my head and collided with the iron door, and I saw it in slow motion.

‘This is…’

An attack that might seem unlucky at first glance.

But for me now, that breath was not bad luck but good fortune.

‘If it’s Horus’s breath…!’

No matter how great the iron door is, it won’t be able to withstand that breath.

It will surely shatter into pieces. I was sure of it.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-!

“Kuh!”

The light breath collided with the iron door, and an explosion rang out.

Since it exploded quite close, the aftermath also affected my body.

‘Absolute Shield!’

To block the aftermath, I used a 5-circle defense magic. A full-body defense magic that boasts absolute defense.

Clang!

It didn’t even last 2 seconds.

The Absolute Shield shattered from the aftershock of Horus’s breath colliding with the iron door.

‘That’s enough.’

But it was enough to last 2 seconds.

‘I blocked the biggest impact.’

Feeling the intense heat, I twisted the corners of my lips.

Then, I stared intently at the upper part of the iron door where the explosion had occurred.

I waited for the smoke to clear, expecting the iron door to be shattered.

However.

‘……It’s fine?’

The iron door was fine.

There wasn’t even a scratch.

The mysterious magic circle filling the iron door had perfectly blocked the breath.

‘No way.’

It was shocking.

The strength of the iron door, which was unscathed even after being hit by Horus’s breath, which seemed to have a power exceeding the 8th circle, was shocking, but,

What was more shocking was the existence of the magic circle surrounding the iron door.

‘There was a magic circle…?’

Just a moment ago, right after confirming that the iron door wouldn’t open.

I used the Eye of Insight to thoroughly examine everything around me to find a solution.

Of course, I also observed the iron door without exception.

But.

‘There was definitely no magic circle like that.’

My eyes failed to detect the magic circle cast on the iron door.

That was more shocking than anything else.

‘What is this magic circle?’

Was it because it collided with Horus’s breath?

I touched the mysterious magic circle that had fully revealed itself.

Using the Eye of Insight, I observed the magic.

I observed the magic formula.

‘There was a concealment technique on the surface to prevent magic detection.’

A magic circle that seemed to be installed for the purpose of blocking the Eye of Insight’s detection.

It was probably installed by my teacher.

‘And the magic circle behind that is…’

Thump, thump.

I heard a heartbeat beyond the magic circle.

A mysterious heartbeat deeply connected through the ground.

I followed the magic circle connected through the ground with my eyes.

‘This magic circle. It’s connected to the heart of the dark wyvern, Darkness.’

The magic circle was connected to Darkness’s heart.

That means.

‘This iron door is set to open with the trigger of Darkness’s heart stopping. Death.’

It meant that I couldn’t move forward without defeating Darkness.

“……”

I slowly turned my head and looked at the two wyverns, who were still engaged in a fierce battle.

To defeat such monsters, whose every flap of their wings is more threatening than a high-circle magic, who boast excellent defense that leaves only minor wounds even when hit by each other’s breath, and who pour out breath comparable to 8-circle magic every second?

‘……It’s impossible.’

No matter how much they are fighting each other, it’s impossible.

Even if I joined Horus here, nothing would change.

Like a shrimp in a whale fight, I can’t have a significant impact.

‘……Then, do I have to stay here and watch until their battle is over?’

No. That won’t work.

Their power is evenly matched.

It’s more likely that I’ll get caught in the aftermath of the battle and die than that they’ll reach a conclusion.

‘Then the remaining option is…’

To return to the cathedral.

That’s the only option.

Fortunately, the door back to the cathedral is open.

If I go back to the abandoned cathedral through that door, recover my wounds, and plan for the future…

‘No. That won’t work either.’

Just before entering the light passage.

I heard the wailing of the wraiths in the abandoned cathedral.

And before entering the dark passage, that wailing became even louder.

That means the wraiths are regaining their strength.

Even if I go back to the abandoned cathedral, I’ll just have to fight the wraiths.

If I fight the wraiths in my current state, I won’t be safe.

Therefore, escaping is also impossible.

‘……Damn it.’

Blood trickled down from my lips. It seems I bit my lip without realizing it.

‘Am I cornered?’

There’s no way to go to the next area.

I can’t escape.

It’s impossible to hold out here.

A perfect checkmate.

All options are blocked.

‘……No, there must be a way.’

Reality is not a chessboard.

In reality, which has a vast amount of information and variables that cannot be compared to a game, there is no such thing as a checkmate.

‘If it feels like a checkmate, it just means I haven’t found the answer yet.’

If I don’t stop thinking, a way out will open up.

I kept my thoughts rotating.

And soon.

‘……I found it.’

I found a way.

The only way to overcome this crisis.

The only way out.

‘But… can I do it in my current state?’

I turned my gaze and looked at the huge iron door.

The concealment magic circle seemed to have completely disappeared from Horus’s attack, and the iron door was still shining with its elegant magic circle.

‘……No. Let’s not think about whether I can do it or not.’

I can do it.

Let’s just think about that.

Thud!

I placed both hands on the iron door.

‘There is no impossible in the Vaitener style.’

Whirr, whirr, whirr, whirr!

The Infinity Circle rotated even more intensely.

My body hurts.

Is it the aftereffect of accelerating the circle more than necessary?

A pain that was incomparably greater than the wounds on my body pressed down on my entire body.

“Kuh!”

But it wasn’t unbearable. If I had a strong will, I could endure it.

I glared at the iron door with fire in my eyes.

I gritted my teeth and moved my mana.

‘See through it.’

My teacher’s words filled my head.

‘Read the magic.’

My eyes hurt.

It was as if dozens of needles were piercing my eyes from all directions.

‘Decipher the magic formula.’

Something flowed from my eyes.

A sensation completely different from tears.

Is it blood?

It seems I’m overdoing it.

But.

‘If I do that…’

That doesn’t matter.

Crack, crackle!

Electricity sparked from my hands.

The frictional current generated as the mana, which had been refined to a higher intensity by circulating through the Infinity Circle, entered the iron door through my hands.

‘If I do that…!’

Tsutsutsutsutsutsu!

I saw it. I pierced through it. I deciphered it.

‘It will no longer be magic.’

‘It will no longer be magic!’

Clang!!

‘Destruction!’

With the sound of something breaking.

Squeak-!

A creaking sound was heard.

It was the sound of a huge iron door opening.

‘My body… has no strength…’

All the strength left my body, and my body began to lean forward.

‘If I… lose consciousness…’

My consciousness was fading.

My vision was darkening.

Through my blurry vision, I saw the ground getting closer.

‘It can’t… be…’

Soon, my vision went dark.

In a world where pitch-black darkness had settled.

Thud!

I felt someone’s warmth.

“……Indeed.”

A male voice I had never heard before.

“It seems that a tiger’s cub is still a tiger, even across eras.”

Was it a delusion?

His voice sounded as excited as it could be.

‘Who…’

Before I could even utter that question.

“Impressive.”

I lost consciousness.