The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 296

I didn’t take the Black Magic King’s hand.

It’s not like I was specifically rejecting his offer.

My heart wanted to refuse immediately, but I’m not in a position to do so right now.

The Black Magic King holds the knife now [metaphorically, meaning he has the power].

If I refused awkwardly, my life would be in danger.

The best option for me here is to pretend to accept the alliance proposal and get through this safely.

Rejecting it outright isn’t a rational choice.

So, I was planning to take his hand, whether I liked it or not.

But…

“Has the structure already begun to collapse…? It’s much faster than I expected.”

Before I could even grab the Black Magic King’s hand, his left arm turned to dust and disappeared.

Even if I wanted to take his hand, there was no hand to take.

“It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do. I’ll hear your answer another time.”

Starting with his hand, the Black Magic King’s body began to disappear rapidly.

Like a building that had been slowly tilting suddenly collapsing at a certain point.

The Black Magic King’s body began to crumble quickly.

“Think carefully until then. What is the wise choice.”

As if a strong wind had blown against a sand sculpture, the Black Magic King’s body turned to dust and vanished into the air.

“Then, see you again. Shin Ha-yul, the formal successor of the Vaitener style.”

As the Black Magic King’s body disappeared, the black curtain also began to vanish.

“I’ll be expecting a good answer.”

Beyond the slowly receding black curtain, I could see the faces of my father, the three Tower Masters, and Commander Charles.

“Shin Ha-yul!”

“Kid!”

Voices full of worry came from beyond the curtain.

As I heard everyone’s voices, the strength began to drain from my body.

The tension that had been stretched taut completely snapped.

‘For now… I’m alive.’

The unexpected encounter with the Black Magic King ended like that.

Leaving behind as many questions as new information.

* * *

After that.

I returned to the Magic God’s Mansion under the extreme protection of Commander Charles and Uncle Seok-hyun.

“Are you really okay?”

As usual, Uncle Seok-hyun was driving.

Commander Charles was sitting next to me.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Commander Charles scanned my body with a look as if she was carrying all the worries of the world.

“Check carefully. You might have some kind of curse on your body.”

“I’ve already checked several times. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Check one more time. That Black Magic King is really scary. He might have tricked your senses and done something.”

“I’m really fine. My body is perfectly fine.”

I don’t know how many times we’ve had this conversation.

No matter how much I say I’m fine, she doesn’t listen.

She just keeps telling me to check again.

“And I told you, the one I met wasn’t the real Black Magic King, but a fake created by a guy named Levi using body transformation magic.”

I decided to say that the Black Magic King who appeared this time was a fake.

I try not to lie if I can help it, but this time is a bit different.

With Bale Stohr and all sorts of secrets intertwined, I can’t reveal the whole truth.

And since I can’t reveal the whole truth, it’s impossible to convince everyone.

So, I decided to say it was a fake for now.

That’s the cleanest way to get through this.

“How powerful of a curse could a fake possibly cast?”

“That’s true, but…”

Commander Charles glared at me with suspicion.

“Was it really a fake? Shin In-hyuk said that the atmosphere wasn’t something a fake could imitate.”

“The appearance was implemented to be infinitely close to the real one. He even managed to implement some of the Black Magic King’s mana. He must have sensed that and been mistaken.”

“…”

“And think about it. If it was real, would I have been able to come back alive like this?”

“That’s true, but…”

Commander Charles didn’t let go of her suspicious gaze.

I thought it was a pretty logical rebuttal, but it doesn’t seem to be working at all.

“Something is telling me it’s not right… Was it really a fake?”

“I’m telling you it was.”

Commander Charles’s senses have reached the realm of superpowers.

Even if my words are logically correct, if her senses say it’s not, then it’s not.

That’s why she’s not letting go of her suspicious gaze.

‘Her senses alone are the best in the world.’

Commander Charles was lost in thought with a serious expression.

She seemed to be agonizing between reason and instinct.

“I understand Commander Charles’s feelings, but please keep your suspicions to that point.”

Uncle Seok-hyun, who had been focused on driving the whole time, spoke for the first time.

“There’s no reason for the young master to lie. If the young master says he was a fake, then he was a fake.”

“That’s true, but…”

Commander Charles muttered, ‘Still, something feels strange…’

“Okay, I understand. I don’t accept it, but I’ll pretend it was a fake for now.”

“Yes. I’m grateful enough for that.”

Just the fact that Commander Charles’s persistent attacks have stopped is a relief.

I feel like I can finally breathe.

“Then, can I close my eyes for a bit? I’m a little… no, very tired.”

“Ah, sorry. You must be tired.”

Commander Charles made a face as if she was very sorry.

She was clearly thinking that she had been too inconsiderate.

“Go ahead and sleep. Do you want to borrow my lap?”

Commander Charles said, tapping her lap.

It was a gesture to lie down here.

“It’s okay. I’ll just…”

I don’t want to sleep, I just want to close my eyes and organize my thoughts.

There’s no need to lie down on her lap.

“What do you mean it’s okay? You should sleep comfortably if you’re going to sleep. Here, lie down.”

Commander Charles half-forcibly placed my head on her lap.

“How is it? It’s comfortable now that you’re lying down, right?”

“It is comfortable, but…”

The height is just right.

It is comfortable, that’s true.

It’s true, but…

‘It’s a bit awkward.’

She’s wearing short shorts, so her thighs are bare.

It’s very awkward because of that.

“If it’s comfortable, that’s good. Now, close your eyes and sleep.”

As if telling me to close my eyes instead of talking nonsense, she placed her palm over my eyes, urging me to close them.

…This forceful attitude.

It’s clear that she won’t let me get up even if I try.

It’s probably better to just lie here.

“…Then, I’ll close my eyes for a bit.”

“Okay. Sleep well.”

I closed my eyes and began to meditate.

Organizing the new information I gained today and the new questions that arose based on that information.

Slowly.

Very slowly, I began to fall into the gaps of thought.

* * *

Early the next morning.

I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.

“…Ah, my head hurts.”

Since the incident yesterday, I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts, but.

Nothing was coming to a proper conclusion.

‘Why did the Black Magic King say those things to me?’

I understood that the Black Magic King’s goal was to defeat Bale Stohr and gain freedom.

I even understood that he needed me for that.

But I don’t know why he honestly told me that.

‘Why would he say something that would obviously put him at a disadvantage…’

The Black Magic King can’t kill me. No, he shouldn’t kill me.

This information is top secret that should have been kept hidden until the end.

If I were the Black Magic King, I would hide this information no matter what.

There’s no reason to take on a penalty by telling the enemy, ‘I can’t kill you,’ which is a fatal weakness.

‘Unless it was information that would be revealed someday, why would he say something that he would never have known if he hadn’t said it…’

The fact that the Black Magic King’s goal is to defeat Bale Stohr is information that no one would know unless the Black Magic King himself said it.

Without knowing that, there’s no way to know that the Black Magic King can’t kill me either.

Why would he voluntarily reveal such information and take on a penalty?

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand.

‘Why did he do something that would put him in a subordinate position? There was no reason for him to do that at all.’

My head is throbbing.

I’ve been thinking too much, it feels like my head is going to explode.

My head is hot.

When I put my hand on it, it’s really hot. I must have overworked my head too much, I think I have a fever of wisdom [a humorous way to say he’s been thinking too hard].

“If only Mimir was here at times like this…”

Mimir would have definitely given me good advice.

Even if not, we would have come up with much better results if we had talked to each other.

Mimir’s absence feels even greater today.

‘Anyway, what’s certain is…’

The sun is slowly rising outside.

I got out of bed and sat on the edge of the bed.

‘There’s no way I’m going to form an alliance with the Black Magic King.’

No matter what the Black Magic King is thinking right now, there’s no way I’m going to join hands with him.

I’m not stupid enough to form an alliance with someone who might stab me in the back at any moment.

Why else would the Black Magic Tower be the worst criminal organization in the world?

The best thing to do is not to associate with such people.

Even if the world turns upside down, there’s no way I’m going to join hands with the Black Magic King.

That much is certain.

‘…Ah, but the Black Magic King must have known that I would think this way.’

There’s no way that someone like the Black Magic King wouldn’t have thought that I would refuse the alliance.

‘Then, is his goal to make me refuse the alliance? No, that doesn’t make sense. There’s no benefit for the Black Magic King at all.’

I forced myself to stop thinking.

But the questions started to multiply again, giving rise to new questions.

‘Then, is his goal to confuse me? No… it doesn’t make sense to reveal such top-secret information for such a trivial purpose. This isn’t it. There must be another reason…’

The endless cycle of thought that has continued for over ten times.

By the time I escaped from this cycle, the sun had completely set.

* * *

And so, the questions remained unresolved.

The current time is 6 PM.

I was summoned by my father and headed to his study.

“The cleanup is all done.”

As soon as I arrived at the study, I immediately heard about the cleanup of the situation from my father.

From the fact that they found traces of someone accessing the fake video prepared to deceive Hermes.

To the fact that they succeeded in manipulating the cause of Levi’s death.

I heard that everything went well as planned for about 5 minutes.

“We’ll have to monitor the situation for a while, but at least it seems like the attention won’t be focused on you, Ha-yul.”

The purpose of this operation was to shift the blame for everything onto my father.

Since Levi sensed shadow magic at Incheon International Airport.

He wouldn’t leave Korea until he found the Shadow [referring to a specific type of magic user].

The fact that a cadre named Levi is staying in Korea for a long time is a big loss for us.

That’s why we planned this operation.

All the evidence was manipulated in advance to make it look like Shin In-hyuk was working with the Shadow.

Then, Levi was lured out in the form of the Shadow.

After that, Levi is dealt with.

This way, we can deal with one of the cadres named Levi.

And since all the attention of the Black Magic Tower will be focused on my father instead of me, my risk will be greatly reduced.

…That was roughly the scenario.

…But.

‘The Black Magic King knows everything anyway…’

I wonder if this is really meaningful.

The Black Magic King knows that I am the cause of all the incidents.

Even if we manipulate the evidence like this, it’s meaningless.

Everything will be exposed as soon as the Black Magic King opens his mouth.

‘Of course, there’s a high probability that the Black Magic King will remain silent…’

Just like he has been doing so far.

He’s likely to remain silent and watch, not caring whether his subordinates move or not.

Since the Black Magic King doesn’t want me to die, he wouldn’t want me to be in a dangerous situation.

If you think about it that way, there’s a very high probability that this operation will be successful.

However, considering that he suddenly acted out of the blue this time, there’s also a possibility that he has changed his course of action.

Considering the current situation, anything could happen.

‘Still. He wouldn’t suddenly turn hostile towards me right after demanding an alliance, would he?’

He said he would wait for my answer.

He will surely act no differently than he is now until then.

It wouldn’t be too late to change his course of action after hearing my answer.

‘Then, I can assume that the operation was successful and move forward.’

That’s the conclusion I came to.

…However.

My conviction was shattered to pieces the very next morning.

[Emergency Situation]

The next morning.

A letter arrived through the shadow of a crow, and it contained the following message.

[Target is Shin Ha-yul. Danger. Operation failed.]

That’s what it said.