The Return Of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 177

The four who were banished from the spiritual world returned to the deepest part of the Hwaelian Prison, where they had originally been confined.

“You son of a bitch! You fucking bastard!” Charles shouted, looking up at the empty air. It was a curse directed at Triksh.

“You cowardly banished us? You piece of shit, you’re worse than a maggot! Aren’t you going to let us back in right now?”

Whether he could hear it or not, she couldn’t help but shout like this.

“You… !”

“Hound. Stop it.”

The Red Magic Tower Lord grabbed Charles’s shoulder. It was a signal to stop there.

“Regardless of whether he can hear us or not, there’s no way he’d let us back into the barrier.”

“If we piss him off enough, he might get angry and bring us back in!”

Charles roughly shook off the Red Magic Tower Lord’s hand.

Her face was flushed, and her eyes were full of agitation. Charles was not in a normal state right now.

‘Damn it… Shin Ha-yul is our Madam’s only hope. I can’t let him die here.’

The one and only successor chosen by Sophia Anetscheff.

The only person who can stop the Black Magic King after Sophia’s death.

They couldn’t let such an important person die like this.

‘No. Absolutely not. I have to save him somehow.’

Moreover, Charles had confirmed Shin Ha-yul’s potential several times.

At first, she was half-doubtful, but now she deeply agreed that Sophia Anetscheff’s choice was right.

Shin Ha-yul was the only person who could succeed Sophia and become the suppressor of the Black Magic King.

“You fucking bastard! Come out here now! Or take me with you! Huh!?”

Charles shouted.

Her trembling voice showed her anxiety.

“…Stop.”

This time, Shin In-hyuk stepped forward.

Standing in front of Charles, he looked her straight in the eye and urged her to stop with a sharp gaze.

“Ha. Stop?”

Charles gritted her teeth.

“You’re so calm, as if you’re not called a ghost?”

Her anger didn’t subside; it grew even more.

“Your son is in danger of dying right now! How can you be so calm? Are you even a father?”

Charles approached Shin In-hyuk with an even more agitated expression.

She stared directly into Shin In-hyuk’s eyes from a distance so close that their noses could touch.

“Yeah, that’s why you can be so calm even after losing two children. You only see your children as tools… !”

Charles, who had been shouting, suddenly lost her words.

“Any more…”

She lost her words due to Shin In-hyuk’s sharp aura.

“Try saying more.”

“…”

A savage aura, like a wounded beast growling.

The aura was so intense that Charles unconsciously took a step back.

“Commander Charles. That was a very inappropriate remark.”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord’s aura was also quite sharp.

He seemed to be upset by Charles’s outrageous words just now.

Charles lowered her head and bit her lip.

“…Sorry. I went too far. I apologize.”

Her head cooled down instantly.

Charles immediately admitted her mistake.

What she had just said was not just crossing the line; it was like jumping rope with the line itself.

It was entirely Charles’s fault.

“I’m really sorry…”

“Hoo.”

Shin In-hyuk let out a deep breath.

A breath full of heat.

His anger hadn’t completely subsided, but it was a deep breath that strongly conveyed his will to suppress it, as the situation called for it.

“I’ll let it go for now. As you said, now is not the time for such petty emotional fights.”

He forced down the anger he hadn’t fully shaken off and somehow regained his composure.

“Yes. What’s important now is how to handle this situation… how to save Ha-yul.”

With the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s words, silence fell.

Everyone was trying to think of a way to deal with this situation.

“This is the first time I’ve ever felt so powerless…”

After about a minute.

The Red Magic Tower Lord, who was the first to finish organizing his thoughts, muttered roughly with a frustrated expression.

It was because he had come to the conclusion that there was no answer no matter how much he thought about it.

“It’s definitely a barrier spread around here. But I can’t feel anything around here. It’s impossible to do anything about a barrier that can’t even be felt.”

“…”

Everyone was silent at the Red Magic Tower Lord’s cold words.

The Red Magic Tower Lord’s words were correct.

It was impossible to do anything about a special barrier that couldn’t even be sensed, let alone seen.

“Blue Magic Tower Lord. Can’t you see anything with your ruby eyes either?”

“…No.”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord lowered his head as if frustrated.

Just like the Red Magic Tower Lord said, he was furious at his own powerlessness.

“What about communication with the outside?”

“It’s still down. Hermes, was it? His hacking skills are amazing. The entire prison system is down, not just the radio waves.”

As soon as they came outside, they tried to connect to the sub-computer to contact the outside, but there was no response.

The prison’s system was completely down.

“So what? Are we just going to give up like this?”

Charles frowned as if frustrated.

“We can’t do that. The four of us were together. Four 8th-circle mages gathered, and we can’t even protect an 18-year-old kid? That can’t be right.”

Charles’s lips were bleeding from how hard she was biting them.

“…One. There is a way.”

Shin In-hyuk muttered with a determined expression.

“There’s a way? What is it?”

Charles raised her head, which had been lowered, and stared at Shin In-hyuk.

The two Magic Tower Lords were the same.

“By destroying my mana circles all at once, I will create a chaotic state of mana around us.”

“…What?”

The three of them widened their eyes.

“If you do that, you might be able to destroy the barrier…”

A barrier is greatly affected by the mana in the air.

The mana deviation phenomenon caused by destroying an 8th-circle mage’s mana circles might be able to forcibly destroy the barrier.

“…Are you planning to die?”

“…”

An 8th-circle mage destroying their mana circles all at once.

This was the same as saying they were giving up their life.

“Frankly speaking, there’s no guarantee that the barrier will be destroyed even if you do that.”

“I know.”

He was betting his own life.

What he could get from it was at most a 10% chance of destroying the barrier.

Ultra-high risk, low return.

Shin In-hyuk knew better than anyone that this was a foolish choice.

“You’ve already made up your mind.”

“Yes.”

But he had to do it.

He had no choice.

‘That kind of experience… is enough for once.’

Shin Se-ah and Shin Ji-han.

Losing children first was enough with just those two.

He couldn’t let three more die here in this distant, foreign land.

“You…”

Charles looked at Shin In-hyuk with a surprised expression, like a rabbit. Her trembling eyes were filled with a feeling of apology.

“…I was wrong about you. Sorry.”

She had said such outrageous things to a person who was willing to sacrifice himself to save his son.

She wanted to hide in a mouse hole if there was one.

“No. You weren’t wrong. Your eyes were accurate.”

The person he was a month ago was truly the heartless person Charles was talking about.

Therefore, Charles’s eyes were not wrong.

“…I see. So that’s how it is.”

What did she feel from Shin In-hyuk’s words and expression?

Charles smiled bitterly and lowered her head.

“Then I’ll start right away.”

According to Shin Ha-yul, time inside the spiritual world flowed slower than in the real world.

If he didn’t act now, Shin Ha-yul’s life would really be in danger.

“Everyone, step back.”

“…Okay.”

“…Yes.”

The three of them stepped back with a heavy expression.

“Then, I will now destroy my mana circles.”

Looking at the three who had moved to a safe distance, Shin In-hyuk closed his eyes and observed his mana circles.

‘Indeed. Is this the fear of losing mana circles? It’s quite terrible…’

Suddenly, he was reminded of the past.

‘Was I… forcing this on Ha-yul?’

He was reminded of himself sending Shin Ha-yul the pill to destroy his circles in the past, and his mouth felt bitter.

He smiled bitterly, thinking that he was a truly selfish parent.

“I’m counting on you to watch my back.”

Shin In-hyuk focused all his mana on his mana circles.

And just as he was about to destroy his mana circles.

Clang–!!

A sound of something breaking rang out.

Like glass breaking.

A sharp roar as if space itself was breaking.

“This is…”

Of course, it wasn’t the sound of Shin In-hyuk’s mana circles being destroyed.

“…The barrier?”

Scattered remnants of mana.

Something intangible was rippling through them.

“The barrier is broken!” Charles shouted.

She felt the remnants of the barrier and rejoiced.

“I’m sorry.”

Two people and one divine spirit slowly appeared through the remnants of the barrier.

“I tried my best to save him, but I failed. No matter what, I couldn’t stop him from taking his own life.”

Shin Ha-yul was standing there in perfect condition, and the nine-tailed fox was in his arms.

And Triksh was lying at his feet.

“But I did get some useful information. I would appreciate it if you could consider that.”

Triksh’s body was completely still. It was like an empty shell.

He was probably dead.

“…”

The four of them stared blankly at Shin Ha-yul. Without saying a word. They just stared blankly at Shin Ha-yul and occasionally chuckled.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Perhaps feeling burdened by their gaze. Shin Ha-yul scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Charles burst into laughter.

As if this situation was too funny. She laughed happily.

“You crazy bastard! You’re amazing! You’re really amazing!”

Then she ran to Shin Ha-yul and tried to hug him.

No, she was about to hug him.

Kang!

“Ugh!”

If Miho hadn’t kicked Charles away as she approached, she would have hugged him.

“Ah. I’m sorry. She’s at it again…”

“No. It’s okay. Yeah. It’s okay.”

Even though she had lost her balance and was sitting on the floor, she didn’t lose her smile.

She looked up at Shin Ha-yul, smiling brightly as if she was having fun.

“Really. Our Madam has an amazing eye for talent… He defeated that guy all by himself…”

She smiled, showing her teeth with a proud expression.

“…?”

Looking at Charles, Shin Ha-yul tilted his head.

He didn’t know why she was just laughing like a crazy person.

“…”

At that moment, Shin In-hyuk, who had approached unnoticed, quietly placed his hand on Shin Ha-yul’s shoulder.

“Father?”

He had a lot to say, but it didn’t come out.

Words were a habit. Shin In-hyuk didn’t know what to say in this situation.

Therefore.

“You did well.”

Shin In-hyuk quietly offered a word of encouragement.

“…You did well.”

It was a word with a lot of meaning.

* * *

The Black Magic Tower’s attack on the deepest part of Hwaelian was successfully concluded.

Of course, the incident was completely covered up.

The fact that the Hwaelian Prison, which had the reputation of being the best prison in the world, had been completely ransacked.

The fact that a being like the Red Magic Tower Lord had failed to notice the presence of a black magician hiding in the shadows.

The fact that four 8th-circle mages were almost defeated by one executive named Triksh.

All of this could not be made public.

Therefore, the incident was buried under the surface.

The Hwaelian Prison remained a solid iron fortress,

The 8th-circle archmages remained an almost invincible force,

And the Black Magic Tower was not considered to have an underground force that could deceive the Red Magic Tower Lord.

“As expected, the International Terror Response Headquarters is on high alert.”

But this was only because the public’s perception had not changed.

The perception of high-ranking officials in each government and organization had changed 180 degrees.

“Yes. I guess so.”

Shin In-hyuk answered calmly to the Blue Magic Tower Lord’s words.

“Parade. Shadow. Triksh. Hermes. The true nature of the Black Magic Tower, which had been hidden in the dark, has begun to be revealed. The International Terror Response Headquarters can’t remain calm like they have been.”

The Black Magic Tower, which had been quiet for a while, had begun to take action again in earnest.

Moreover, giant forces had begun to appear in the Black Magic Tower, which until 11 years ago, could be called the Black Magic King’s one-man force, with a severe bias in power.

It was natural for international security to be on high alert.

“The only good thing is that Ha-yul took care of the most troublesome executive… Triksh.”

“…Yes.”

The corners of Shin In-hyuk’s mouth slightly curved upwards. It was an expression that couldn’t hide his joy.

“Born with a high soul level… I can’t help but laugh when I think about it again. If someone who didn’t know had said that, I would have thought they were crazy.”

“You would have.”

“But well, I saw it with my own eyes. In the spiritual world, where the level of the soul determines superiority, Ha-yul was overwhelming Triksh…”

The corners of Shin In-hyuk’s mouth curved even higher.

“By the way, a high soul level…”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord’s expression was full of joy.

“Does that mean that Ha-yul, who was born with such a great soul, is destined to become a hero?”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord recalled a story from mythology he had read sometime ago.

“[Ray Bell Bytener.]”

“[He was noble, strong, and had an unyielding fortitude that would not break under any hardship…]”

The story of a mythical archmage who was praised as the greatest person in the world.

“[He was a hero of his time, born with the soul of a great man.]”

“If that’s the case, we might be witnessing the beginning of a new myth with our own eyes.”