The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 256

Ignis.

The second mythical magic I obtained, following Pactio [a magic focused on contracts and agreements].

The magic’s effect itself isn’t much different from other fire magic.

It ignites flames, burning everything around it.

That’s the end of it.

The difference, perhaps, is that Ignis’s flames don’t just burn ‘matter’.

Ignis’s flames burn even conceptual substances like souls or mana [magical energy].

“The three colors that make up the world. Among them, the first to be born, red. The primordial fire took the first step in the world’s creation.”

Ignis.

The primordial flame began to manifest in the world along with my incantation.

Its form itself is no different from ordinary flames.

It’s probably what it would look like if a young mage taking their first steps in magic used ‘Fire’ for the first time.

The appearance of the flames Ignis created was that small and insignificant.

“Necessity. Everything in the world originated from me, derived from me.”

But its insignificant appearance is only on the surface.

The power contained within the flame is immeasurably greater than any ordinary fire.

“Then, the power of life and death over everything in the world is mine.”

Ignis pulsed.

Like a living thing, like a heart, it throbbed greatly.

“Praise the primordial fire. Worship the color red. Cry out my name. That is your only salvation.”

Before my final incantation, the flame contracted.

And then, it expanded rapidly.

It then danced along the ‘Möbius pattern’ formed by Kailum [a magical artifact or weapon].

The flame became more and more vivid.

Like a child who had lost their emotions, regaining their laughter while playing in a playground.

The primordial flame began to regain its vitality.

“Primordial fire. Ignis.”

And at the same time as the final activation word was chanted from my mouth.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!

Ignis began to dye the world red.

* * *

In front of the secret passage on the shopping district side.

Charles was focused, his nerves sharply honed.

To prepare for the impending catastrophe, even the slightest carelessness could not be tolerated.

“Captain. Something huge is approaching.”

One of the mercenaries, a female member in charge of reconnaissance, who was waiting with Charles, spoke from behind.

“At this speed… it’ll arrive within 5 seconds!”

The woman widened her eyes and shouted loudly.

The members took their positions around Charles.

“It’s here!”

At the same time as the woman’s final warning, the wall blocking the secret passage exploded.

Crimson flames appeared beyond the exploded passage.

Flames of immense density, as if condensing the sun, rushed in as if to devour Charles.

At that moment, a huge barrier formed around Charles.

A barrier using telekinesis.

By controlling the movement of atoms and molecules unique to flames with telekinesis, he prevents them from holding any more heat.

It was a feat only Charles, a specialist in telekinesis, could perform.

“Everyone, just block the aftereffects of the flames leaking out of the telekinesis!”

Seeing Charles, the reconnaissance officer shouted.

When Charles was focused on something, it was always this member’s job to give follow-up instructions.

“We know without you saying it.”

“But isn’t this firepower way too strong than expected!?”

“It looks dangerous!”

The mercenaries each said a word and then scattered around.

At the edge of the huge barrier Charles had created.

They blocked the flames that were leaking out before they even hit the barrier.

It was a coordination that was close to perfect.

“Captain! This is freaking hard, you know?”

“Captain, can’t you make the barrier a bit bigger? At this rate, I feel like I’m going to die without even having a proper girlfriend!”

They were all complaining, but their movements were incredibly smooth.

If Seyn had seen this scene, she would have given them sincere applause.

“Stop chattering and just hold on! You bastards!”

Charles shouted with an unpleasant expression, as if saying, ‘These guys are whining again!’

“I’m the one having the hardest time right now, why are you guys complaining?!”

Charles grumbled but increased the range of his telekinesis.

Seeing Charles, the members laughed heartily.

“You’ll do it in the end anyway.”

“I pushed myself a bit because I thought you guys couldn’t block it all! Why! You got a problem!”

“As expected of the captain! It was an accurate judgment. I was about to die from exhaustion.”

Charles’s expression became even more distorted at the members’ sly smiles and answers.

“Seriously, don’t you guys have any pride? Usually, wouldn’t you feel insulted when someone says something like that?”

“Does pride feed us?”

“We’re just the captain’s sidekicks anyway.”

“If the captain does well, that’s our pride. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

While making small talk, they were still perfectly blocking the surrounding flames.

It felt like their movements were becoming more refined as they chatted.

“Cheer up, Captain~ If you fall, we’ll die too!”

“Fighting, fighting, Captain!”

“Put some strength in your butt! Open your eyes wide! Please do your best to hold on!”

A vein popped out prominently on Captain Charles’s forehead.

“Should I just kill all of these guys…”

If anyone makes a mistake.

I’ll kill them half to death.

Charles started to focus even more on controlling his telekinesis, thinking that.

‘Okay. This should be enough.’

‘I was surprised that I was trying to focus for no reason.’

For reference, this is why the members were talking jokingly.

Charles is a typical sensory-type genius mage.

Such mages, if they try to focus awkwardly, their concentration is broken instead.

It’s like a basketball player who used to handle the ball with just the feeling of their fingertips, becoming clumsy after learning awkward knowledge.

Charles is the typical genius type who loses concentration the moment he thinks, ‘I’m going to concentrate.’

Knowing that, they are saying those things on purpose to prevent him from concentrating.

“…They’re all dead for sure.”

Of course, Charles doesn’t know that.

Because he’s the type of person who would never admit that his concentration drops when he tries to focus.

‘But… I’m barely holding on with the help of the members. Are the other two places okay?’

Charles, who was grinding his teeth, suddenly thought of the other two passages.

The secret passage towards the Knight School that Seyn Vinoche headed to, and the secret passage towards the basement of the Palace of Versailles that Shadow headed to.

‘Considering his abilities, Shadow’s side shouldn’t have any problems, but…’

What worried him was the Knight School side.

Being located closest to the research lab, the firepower there must be incomparably stronger than here.

No matter how great Seyn Vinoche is, it would be difficult to block all the flames of this range and power.

No matter how great she is, and even if her sword can sever mana, she is just a swordswoman.

‘No. Maybe Seyn Vinoche is the one I don’t need to worry about?’

Considering Seyn Vinoche’s overwhelming power, it seemed like there wouldn’t be any problems.

‘Well. The biggest worry isn’t outside, but inside.’

Charles’s mind became more and more complicated.

The more it did, the sharper and more perfect Charles’s magic became.

‘Good. If the captain maintains this state, we can block this side without any damage.’

The reconnaissance officer, who was in charge of command instead of Charles, cheered inwardly.

‘It would be nice if he always focused on his missions while thinking about other things like this.’

He stared intently at Captain Charles’s back, thinking nonchalantly about how Charles would jump up and down in a frenzy if he heard him.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Versailles Palace side.

Contrary to Charles’s expectations, this side was facing a considerable crisis.

‘…It’s dangerous.’

They were somehow holding on, but as the size of the flames grew, more and more flames were leaking out, avoiding the shadows.

At this rate, it was clear that they would be devoured by the flames before long.

‘Was it because I pushed myself too hard earlier?’

If Shadow was in his best condition, he would have absorbed this much residual flame without any problem. He would have easily swallowed the flames while yawning.

But the current Shadow is about a billion light-years away from his best condition.

‘If I hadn’t made that crazy choice to block Seyn Vinoche’s attack, this much flame would be nothing…’

Especially the last blow.

He took too much damage from that blow.

The density of shadows he can control is less than half of what it usually is.

‘What should I do?’

What’s worse is that the shadows are decreasing in real-time.

The situation is heading towards the worst in real-time.

‘Should I run away?’

Fortunately, the Palace of Versailles is closed for regular holidays today. There isn’t a single tourist.

Since there are no tourists, even if the flames overflow, the damage wouldn’t be that great.

Only the staff guarding this place would die, about 50 people or so.

That’s enough to bear.

‘No. I can’t. He told me to take care of it. If I run away here, there’s a high chance that he won’t fulfill the contract.’

Shadow bit his lip.

He couldn’t block it even if he tried.

He couldn’t run away even if he wanted to.

All options were blocked.

‘What should I do?’

As he was staring intently at the flames that were gradually seeping out.

“I’ll cooperate.”

A voice was heard from behind.

It was a woman’s voice that Shadow knew.

“Adela Steart?”

Adela.

She stood next to Shadow and moved her mana.

“How are you here?”

“I received a request.”

Adela’s gray mana began to block the flames that were leaking out through Shadow’s shadows, one by one.

Shadow’s burden gradually disappeared.

“A request?”

“Yes.”

“What request?”

Even if it’s Shin Hayul, he couldn’t have predicted this would happen.

What kind of request did he make?

“I was asked to keep an eye on this place.”

Adela’s gray mana began to block the flames that were leaking out through Shadow’s shadows, one by one.

Shadow’s burden gradually disappeared.

“The probability is low, but in case something goes wrong, he might try to escape through this place, so I was asked to monitor this place in preparation for that.”

Was Adela Steart placed as insurance in case the Doctor tried to escape?

I understood.

“Besides that, I was also asked to check if any reinforcements were entering through this place.”

“I see, I understand.”

While monitoring, she felt a strange presence and came here.

That’s what it was.

“But… how is the situation unfolding right now?”

She had blocked it because she had to, but Adela didn’t know how the situation was unfolding.

“We succeeded in killing the Doctor, but he self-destructed. And to stop that self-destruction, Shin Hayul is struggling inside. We’re blocking the aftereffects coming up from underground.”

Shadow explained as concisely as possible.

“Self-destruction. So that’s why there’s such an aftershock…”

Adela nodded as if she understood.

“I heard that the distance from the research lab to this passage is quite far, but such a powerful fire magic…”

“No. These flames weren’t caused by the Doctor.”

Shadow corrected Adela’s misunderstanding.

“These flames are the aftereffects caused by Shin Hayul’s magic.”

“Hayul’s magic?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t know why he used such magic, but it was certain.

‘This magic. It’s very similar to the mana emitted by Helios’s Heavenly Demon that I used near Mount Baekdu before.’

I absorbed it with shadows, so there’s no way I could misperceive it.

“This is Hayul’s magic…”

Adela’s eyes sparkled with a look of genuine admiration.

She was already excited to know what kind of magic he used.

“Instead of admiring, focus…”

Just as Shadow was about to scold Adela.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!

The flames surged explosively.

“Tsk. It wasn’t at maximum output yet…”

Shadow’s expression became serious.

The situation was already precarious, and now it’s getting stronger.

‘Can we block it?’

With Adela’s help, they could somehow hold on.

‘There’s no guarantee that the flames won’t get stronger here.’

Shadow’s expression became even more distorted.

‘What happened below?’

The flames grew.

That meant that Shin Hayul had increased the power of the flames.

And the fact that Shin Hayul increased the power meant that he couldn’t erase the Doctor’s remnants with the previous power.

It was certain that something had happened to Shin Hayul.

Shadow bit his lower lip.

‘I have to save Shin Hayul no matter what.’

For his own purpose, he couldn’t let Shin Hayul die here.

Just as Shadow was engraving a desperate resolution in his heart.

“…Where are you talking from?”

Adela muttered something incomprehensible.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you hear it? Just now, they asked for help… Oh. Now again…”

Shadow’s brow furrowed sharply.

He looked like he was saying, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

“They’re telling me to come over there? But that’s…”

Adela’s expression became somewhat blank.

“I can’t go even if I want to because of the flames.”

Shadow frowned.

Has she really gone crazy?

“They said it’ll be okay?”

Adela’s eyes narrowed.

It was a look as if she had made a big decision.

“Okay. I’ll trust you.”

In that state, she took a step forward.

And then, she reached out her hand towards the flames.

“That idiot…!”

Just as Shadow shouted in panic.

“It’s really not… hot…? Then you’re really…”

Adela said with a calm expression, with her hand in the flames.

“You, how…”

It was the kind of firepower that should have turned her arm to ashes, let alone cause burns.

Yet, she was fine even after putting her hand in such high-powered flames.

How did she do it?

“I think I have to go now.”

“What nonsense…”

Adela took a step into the flames.

As expected, the flames did not harm Adela at all.

Shadow’s expression became even more serious.

“Mana is asking me for help. Something must have happened to Hayul. I have to go.”

“So what does that…”

Adela didn’t answer.

She rushed into the flames with a desperate expression, as if she didn’t have time to answer.