The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 260

The flames that had transferred to Shadow’s arm gradually spread throughout his body.

From his arm to his shoulder, from his shoulder to his torso, and from his torso to his legs and head.

Ignis soon covered Shadow’s entire body.

‘It’s not hot at all.’

Judging by the sensation, it was the same fire magic that was used in the previous lab.

How could such high-powered flames have no effect on his body?

How could that be possible?

‘A mythical relic…’

According to the information obtained from the lab, the flames that Shin Hayul was currently wielding were also a divine artifact called a mythical relic, just like his shadow.

Its name was Ignis.

It was also called the primordial flame, and it was said to have the power to burn everything in the world.

The Doctor seemed to have analyzed it as simply an extreme destructive force…

‘Rather than a flame with extreme destructive power that can burn everything, it seems more accurate to say it’s a power that can precisely eliminate only what the caster desires.’

That’s why it didn’t affect Adela Stewart when she entered the passage before.

Could it be that Ignis’s flames only have the power to burn those whom the caster considers enemies?

‘No. It’s not just that.’

A flame that can distinguish friend from foe.

This magic is not just at that level.

The shadow of Umbra, being burned by Ignis and slowly disappearing.

Seeing that, Shadow’s eyes gleamed.

‘This flame can literally burn everything. Even conceptual things that are invisible.’

The fact that it’s burning Umbra’s shadow is proof of that.

Being able to burn Umbra’s shadow is the same as saying it can burn almost anything.

‘If so, the value of this flame is immeasurable.’

First of all, it means that Ignis can burn everything that could be absorbed by Umbra’s shadow.

The opponent’s magic, special barriers, and so on.

The utility of that magic is endless.

‘Shin Hayul. You’ve really obtained an incredible weapon.’

It’s like a tiger growing wings.

Shadow smiled as if he was in the best mood in the world.

‘Black Magic King. And Hermes. You’ve messed with the wrong person this time. Serves you right.’

It feels so good that such a monster is hostile to the Black Magic Tower.

I sincerely prayed that he would grow even more and wipe out the Black Magic Tower and the Black Magic King from this world.

Shadow prayed with all his heart.

“Now, I’m going to remove the core that’s lodged inside your body. It might be a little painful. Brace yourself.”

“…Okay.”

For a moment, I was about to answer, ‘I can’t feel pain,’ but I stopped myself.

Shin Hayul already knew that Shadow couldn’t feel anything.

There was no way Shin Hayul would have forgotten that and said such a thing.

He must have succeeded in removing some of the shadow, and Shadow’s senses had returned to some extent.

That’s why he was saying that.

“Hoo…”

Shadow took a deep breath.

Of course, Shadow was not immune to pain. It was a sensation he had never felt before, so how could he be immune?

“I’m ready. You can start anytime.”

Shadow pursed his lips and spoke with a determined expression.

“Yes. Then, I’ll begin.”

Shin Hayul nodded slightly and increased the intensity of the flames.

Whirrrrrrrrr-!

The flames that were surrounding Shadow became even denser.

The density of the flames had increased by at least two to three times.

Without stopping there, the flames began to intensify rapidly.

The focal point of the flames was Shadow’s heart.

The place where Umbra’s shadow was coiled.

“Kuh!”

A groan of pain escaped from Shadow’s mouth.

The flames hadn’t even fully gathered yet, but he already looked like he was dying.

‘It feels like my heart is burning alive.’

It’s hot.

It’s so hot that I feel like I’m going crazy.

It’s worse than the pain from the wound I suffered from Helios’s Heavenly Demon before.

“Kaaaaaaaaaah!”

The pain grew more and more intense.

The more the flames concentrated, the more the pain in his heart intensified.

‘Umbra’s shadow… is rampaging.’

To make matters worse, Umbra’s shadow was also rebelling and surging.

A clash of two transcendent energies.

They were colliding with all their might, using Shadow’s heart as their colosseum.

It felt as if someone was burning his heart with fire and stabbing it with thousands of needles.

He felt like he was about to faint at any moment.

Clench!

But Shadow’s will was firm. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain with all his might.

‘Do you think I’ll faint like this?’

How much had he longed for this moment?

How much had he dreamed of this moment?

He couldn’t faint like this.

He couldn’t run away from the pain like this.

‘This pain is entirely mine. It’s something I can’t give to anyone, something I shouldn’t give away, something that’s only mine!’

Shadow’s eyes flickered.

This pain was proof that he was alive.

Realizing that, he couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s almost over. Please hold on a little longer.”

Shin Hayul said, beads of cold sweat dripping down his face.

Shin Hayul was also pushing himself quite hard.

‘Now, the final stage.’

Whirrrrrrrrr-!

Shin Hayul squeezed out all his strength and maximized the output of Ignis.

And at that moment.

Snap-!

A sound like a rubber band snapping was heard.

It was the sound of the connection between Shadow’s heart and Umbra’s shadow breaking.

Thud-!

Following that, the sound of the shadow weakly extending out was heard.

And.

“It’s over. You can open your eyes.”

Shin Hayul said, panting heavily.

Shadow slowly opened his eyes.

“Here. I’ve removed the curse that was eating away at your body.”

The first thing he saw was Shin Hayul’s face, soaked in sweat.

And the black cross he was holding in his hand.

That must be the core of Umbra’s shadow.

“…Ah.”

Shadow looked at the black cross and let out a small exclamation.

A silent outcry filled with so many emotions that it couldn’t be expressed in a short sound.

“I can see.”

Shadow touched his face with a trembling hand.

“I can feel it.”

Shadow’s eyes welled up with tears.

“I’m… alive…”

Shadow covered his face with his hands and lowered his head.

It was like a ten-year-old child sobbing.

* * *

After that.

After calming his emotions to some extent, Shadow handed me three USBs.

“I’ve organized all the information I know here. Check it out.”

Shadow left the room after saying those words.

There were still things I wanted to say to Shadow, but I didn’t hold him back.

He probably needed time to sort out his thoughts alone.

‘…I need time alone too.’

I touched the black cross in my hand, the ‘legacy of Umbra’s shadow,’ once, then put on Aeth.

And after holding Miho, who was sleeping soundly next to me, in my arms, I took out the ‘Grimoire of Mimir’ and opened it.

Flash!

With a familiar sensation, my body was transported inside the Grimoire of Mimir.

“Successor!”

Mimir greeted me enthusiastically.

He rushed towards me, fussing over me with a worried expression.

“How’s your body? Are you hurt anywhere? What happened?”

I had said I was going to infiltrate the lab, and then I hadn’t contacted him for two whole days. It was natural for Mimir to react like that.

Miho hadn’t returned either.

“Look at this sweat. How much did you push yourself?”

Mimir looked genuinely upset. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

“Calm down. It’s not what you think.”

I tried my best to calm Mimir down and showed him the black cross in my right hand.

“Here. Umbra’s legacy. I pushed myself a bit while taking this out.”

Mimir’s face quickly calmed down.

“…I see. It seems like things went well.”

The fact that I had extracted Umbra’s shadow was proof that the incident was somewhat resolved.

Mimir realized that fact and calmed down instantly.

“What happened? Why were you so late?”

“Well… I’ll explain everything in order.”

I started from the point when I re-infiltrated the lab and told him everything.

Since it was a big incident, I explained everything in detail without missing a single thing.

The explanation took about 20 minutes.

“…”

Mimir, having heard everything, had a blank expression.

He looked like his soul had left his body.

“So… Father was possessing your body?”

“Yeah.”

“…How?”

“I don’t know. How would I know something you don’t?”

“That’s… true, but.”

Mimir narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.

I was the same.

I thought Mimir would know, but even Mimir didn’t know.

‘What the heck happened?’

At that moment, Miho, who had been sleeping soundly in my arms, yawned loudly and woke up.

She blinked her eyes with a tired expression, looked around, and then her eyes sparkled when she realized who was holding her.

Then, she rubbed her face against my cheek.

It was as if she was saying she was glad I was safe.

“Thank you. I survived thanks to you, Miho.”

If Miho hadn’t used the soul bond there, I would have been eroded by Carius and lost my life.

I was alive thanks to Miho.

I couldn’t thank Miho enough…

‘Wait a minute.’

Something flashed in my mind.

‘Miho knows, doesn’t she?’

Ray Bell Vaitner.

It was none other than Miho who summoned my master’s soul and settled it in my body.

The key to this incident is all with Miho.

“Miho.”

“Miho, you!”

Mimir and I called out to Miho at the same time.

It seemed that Mimir had come to the same conclusion as me.

Mimir briefly made eye contact with me. Then, he nodded slightly, indicating, ‘You speak.’

I also nodded slightly, showing my agreement.

“Miho, how did you summon Master?”

Miho took her face off my cheek and made eye contact with me with a strange expression.

Then, she went down to the floor and began to write letters on the floor using her front paws and mana.

[I used the last privilege Ray left me, the authority.]

“Authority?”

Miho nodded slightly.

[Just once. The authority to summon his soul when I want.]

[A privilege created using the mythical magic Persona.]

[He told me to call him much later, when Ray and you could have a proper conversation.]

[It was too dangerous, so I had no choice but to use it.]

Miho suddenly became dejected.

[If it was normal, I could have seen him for longer.]

It seemed she was sad about the short meeting.

[And I was the one who called Adela too.]

“…Adela too?”

[If I summoned Ray in that state, it would put too much strain on your body. I needed someone to help. So, I asked Mana to bring her.]

“So, the reason Adela wasn’t affected by Ignis’s flames was…”

[I was assisting, so I adjusted it so that she wouldn’t be.]

If Miho, who was helping me control Ignis, was doing it, it was more than possible to make Adela an exception.

“…That’s how it was.”

All the big questions were resolved.

Now, there was only one question left.

“But how did you know that Adela could stop my mana overflow?”

Why did Miho ask Adela for help?

That was the only thing.

“According to Adela, her distant ancestor’s family name was Sol Lunari. Is that related to something…?”

“Wait a minute. Successor. Did you just say Sol Lunari?”

Mimir reacted with a surprised expression.

“Yeah.”

“…Are you sure?”

“Probably. Master said that to Adela.”

“Okay. Then it’s certain.”

A different light shone in Mimir’s eyes.

“That woman is a Sol Lunari… She’s a descendant of the first Sol Lunari. Moreover, she’s not just any Sol Lunari, but a Sol Lunari who has even absorbed the grace of God…”

He had the expression of someone who had found a first-place lottery ticket on the street.