The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 298

Shadow’s sudden letter arrived.

The four words ‘operation failed’ written in the letter made our heads ache.

“How did those guys figure it out?” my father asked, his expression grave.

“Hound, was there a mistake on your end?”

“There was no mistake on our side. I can swear on everything I have,” said Commander Charles, his expression mirroring my father’s.

He looked like he was carrying all the worries of the world on his shoulders.

“The evidence tampering was perfect. Madam confirmed it, not me.”

“If Sophia confirmed it…”

That meant there wasn’t a mistake.

“Is there a possibility that Hermes saw through our plan?” the Blue Magic Tower Lord, who had been quietly listening, offered his opinion for the first time.

“It’s not impossible. We’re not inside Hermes’ head. There could be variables. But…”

Commander Charles’ brow furrowed even more sharply.

“Even so, targeting the kid doesn’t make sense.”

If Hermes had seen through our plan, he should have concluded that the target was ‘uncertain’.

He couldn’t have pinpointed ‘Shin Ha-yul’ as the culprit.

It’s true that he was already under suspicion, and considering Shin In-hyuk as a shield, the probability of Shin Ha-yul being the culprit was very high.

But it wasn’t certain.

It was just a high probability. He shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.

An executive without a brain might have come to that conclusion.

But the chances of Hermes, the brain and eyes of the Black Magic Tower, making such a sloppy conclusion were close to 0%.

“…Now that I hear it, you’re right. Then what could it be?”

The Blue Magic Tower Lord lowered his gaze again, lost in thought.

He must have been thinking about what was going on and how to act in the future.

“Whatever it is, kid, you need to hide in some remote countryside. I’ve found a backwater where Hermes’ eyes won’t reach.”

Commander Charles’ eyes were firm.

He wasn’t even considering my opinion.

You just need to hide.

That’s what Commander Charles’ eyes were saying.

“I’m telling you in advance. I won’t take any objections. This time, listen to me. It’s dangerous for you to stay here. I know you might not like running away without a plan, but…”

“Just a moment.”

“I said I wouldn’t listen to objections, right? So just do as I say…”

“I’m not trying to object.”

I slowly moved my hands up and down, gesturing for him to relax.

“You don’t have to say it like a threat. I was planning to hide anyway.”

“…Huh?”

Commander Charles’ expression instantly lost its edge.

“…Really?”

“Of course, it’s real.”

Commander Charles looked at me with an expression of utter surprise.

My father and the Blue Magic Tower Lord also had similar expressions.

They all looked like they didn’t expect me to agree so easily.

‘What kind of image do I have…’

I felt a little wronged.

Who is more reasonable than me?

“Now that the Black Magic Tower has started targeting me in earnest, there’s not much I can do. Like Commander Charles said, hiding from Hermes’ eyes is the best option.”

“…That’s right. You know it well.”

“Of course. I know my situation best.”

I understand.

Looking back at my actions so far, it’s true that I’ve been somewhat reckless.

No, strictly speaking, I wasn’t reckless.

I acted with conviction.

Of course, it was just conviction from my perspective. To others, it must have seemed like I was just being reckless.

That’s why they’re reacting like this.

“Yeah… well. You know it well.”

Commander Charles scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.

He clearly looked like he was thinking, ‘I didn’t need to be so forceful.’

“Well, you’ve grown!”

Commander Charles grinned and slapped me on the back.

“I was worried you were going to say, ‘This is an opportunity to lure Hermes out and kill him using me as bait.'”

“…”

My shoulders twitched for a moment.

He had completely seen through me.

‘If it were before, I would have said that.’

If Hermes was the only one targeting me, I would have said that.

I would have said that this was a golden opportunity to deal with Hermes, a troublesome executive, and suggested using me as bait to lure him out.

But.

‘…This time, it’s not Hermes who’s targeting me, but the Black Magic King.’

Now is not the time to say that.

It’s not some executive who’s targeting me, but the Black Magic King himself.

The fact that the Black Magic Tower has identified me as the culprit is proof of that.

‘If the Black Magic King wasn’t involved, this result wouldn’t be possible.’

The Black Magic King is involved in this.

The Black Magic King told Hermes the whole truth.

That’s why I was specifically set as the ‘target’.

In other words, the Black Magic King is targeting me.

Of course, considering what the Black Magic King told me, he probably doesn’t intend to kill me.

I think he might be planning to capture me alive and do something.

‘…It’s hard to understand how someone who was trying to form an alliance with me until yesterday is suddenly trying to capture me.’

Whatever the reason, there’s no reason to publicly reveal information about me unless the goal is to capture me alive.

That’s why I’m trying to hide.

I can’t deal with the Black Magic King if he starts moving to target me, not even Hermes.

‘I’ll hide for now and focus on gaining strength.’

I don’t expect to grow enough to face the Black Magic King.

At least, I need to grow enough to escape safely when I encounter him.

That’s the only way I can do anything.

‘To do that, I need to find the Book of Dante Roa first.’

Fortunately, I’ve already located the place where the Book of Dante Roa is.

It’s also in a remote countryside with almost no CCTV.

It’s perfect in many ways.

‘I’ll find the Book of Dante Roa, master the 7th Circle, and after some time, when their interest has waned, I’ll move again. That’s the best plan.’

This is the best choice I can make right now.

As for deceiving Hermes’ eyes, I can do it like I did with ‘Ruan Palatia’ before.

Using shadow magic, I can hide my mana to some extent.

And if I hide in a remote countryside with very few CCTVs?

The chances of my location being discovered are almost zero.

“Then I’ll prepare an escape route so you can quietly slip away. It’s a really desolate place, so it might be frustrating. Just think of it as taking a break…”

Commander Charles said to me while contacting someone.

He must be planning to ask Mr. Seok-hyun to secure an escape route.

“Can’t I choose the place to hide?”

“Huh? It doesn’t matter, but why?”

“There’s something I need to find.”

I glanced at my father.

My father’s eyes lit up with a ‘ho ho’ expression.

“Ah. That thing?”

Commander Charles seemed to have caught on as well.

Well.

I had mentioned before that the ‘Book of Idred’ had lost its power.

It would be strange if he didn’t notice.

“…?”

In the meantime, only Kim Kang-in was tilting his head in confusion.

It was a natural reaction since he didn’t know about the Book of Idred.

…I’ll have to explain it to him later when I get the chance.

“Where are you going? It’s not overseas, is it?”

“I have to take a plane… but it’s not overseas.”

“A domestic area that requires a plane… Jeju Island?”

“Yes.”

The Book of Dante Roa is located somewhere on Hallasan Mountain in Jeju Island.

* * *

The next evening.

I was waiting for a ship at a port in Busan.

“I never thought I’d be taking a ship to Jeju Island.”

“…Yeah. I never thought I’d see someone taking a ship to Jeju Island either,” Commander Charles replied with a hearty laugh.

“Is it really impossible to take a flight?”

“Yeah. I looked into it in many ways, but it’s too dangerous.”

The airport is like Hermes’ castle. Using such a place is too risky.

“Unless the surveillance is somewhat lax like before, it’s too dangerous to enter the airport when Hermes is watching with both eyes wide open.”

During the previous Ruan Palatia incident, Hermes’ surveillance wasn’t that strict.

That’s because I wasn’t the target of his focused surveillance at that time.

But it’s different now.

Hermes is searching for me with his eyes wide open.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Hermes has taken over the entire airport.

Whether I use Face Change or shadow magic.

Hiding my identity at an airport that Hermes is fully monitoring is quite difficult.

Therefore, I can’t go to the airport.

Going to the airport now is like committing suicide.

“But I don’t think taking a ship is a good idea either.”

I fully understand the situation.

But this doesn’t seem right.

“Crossing the Abyss Sea… isn’t that suicide?”

The only way to get to Jeju Island right now is by plane.

You can’t get there by ship.

That’s because crossing the ‘Abyss Sea’ that separates the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island is nearly impossible.

“He was confident that he could pass through it. It’ll be fine… probably.”

The Abyss Sea.

A special area created by the mana disaster in the past, a treacherous sea with dozens, hundreds of powerful whirlpools that are impossible for any ordinary ship to pass through.

As a place where mana is densely concentrated, it’s also a place where all kinds of marine monsters gather.

“…Can I really trust him?”

No one has succeeded in passing through this area since the Abyss Sea was created 21 years ago.

“Personally, I think you can trust him. At least, he’s not someone who would talk nonsense.”

“…So he’s actually crossed it before? The Abyss Sea?”

“…Maybe?”

Commander Charles still tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

It’s hard to say this, but I felt like punching him in the face.

He’s acting like it’s not his problem…

“If you’re that worried, do you want to cancel it now? Going to Jeju Island can be postponed. You can hide inland for now. Then…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

At that moment, a small woman walked slowly from afar.

Terun Sitrea.

A researcher in charge of Mimir’s thesis, conducting research.

She is the guide in charge of today’s trip to Jeju Island.

“I’ll take you to Jeju Island safely. Just trust me.”

“Even if you tell me to trust you…”

How on earth is she planning to cross the Abyss Sea and get to Jeju Island?

“Think about it. This is actually an opportunity. The Black Magic Tower guys would never imagine that you went to Jeju Island by crossing the sea.”

“I guess that’s true…”

The airport is currently under Hermes’ watchful eye.

Since Hermes’ abilities are being used to their full potential, it’s nearly impossible to break through there.

In that situation, what would happen if I took a ship to Jeju Island?

Would Hermes even think that I might be in Jeju Island?

He wouldn’t.

Unless the airport is breached, I’m definitely somewhere inland.

Hermes will definitely think that.

“You’re really lucky. You just happened to sign a contract with me at this time.”

“…Whether I’m lucky or not, I think that’s something to judge after I arrive in Jeju Island.”

“Hey. I told you to trust me.”

Terun smiled confidently, as if to say, ‘Don’t worry.’

“Even if I want to trust you…”

I glanced at the sea. A vast, empty ocean.

It was a quiet port, so quiet that there wasn’t a single ship in sight.

That’s why we chose this place…

“Let’s at least take a look at the ship we’re going to take.”

I wanted to see what kind of ship it was that could cross the Abyss Sea.

Let’s just take a look at its appearance.

“Ship? We’re not taking a ship.”

“…What?”

“How can you cross the Abyss Sea with a ship? Are you trying to commit suicide?”

“No…”

I’m the one hearing those words.

Oh my god.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I never said we were going by ship?”

“That’s true, but…”

No, if you say you’re going to cross the sea, isn’t it normal to think you’re going by ship?

“If not a ship, what are we taking?”

“My pet.”

“…Pet?”

“Yeah. You’ll see. It should be coming soon…”

That’s when it happened.

Kugugugugung-!

The sea suddenly shook violently.

The sea level slowly rose.

It looked like a giant submarine was emerging from the surface.

Breaking through the sea, a huge mountain revealed itself.

No, it’s not a mountain.

“Hey, Terun… how is that a pet…?”

Smooth, black skin.

Two red glowing eyes.

A body so huge that it could put an Aegis destroyer to shame.

A giant monster that looked like a ‘whale’.

“Let me introduce you. My pet… or should I say, pet monster?”

At least S-rank.

Considering its size, it could be a disaster-class monster beyond ranking.

“Behe…moth…?”

The king of the sea.

The predator of the abyss.

Behemoth.

“That’s right. You know it?”

That thing was staring intently at me.

“Isn’t it cute?”