The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 371

After that, I left the prison and returned to my lodgings.

“…Mimir, what do you think?”

The soul of a dragon is very, very special.

It was destroyed by a god and sealed by a god, so it can’t be found by ordinary means.

In terms of rarity, it’s a step above the Vaitern style [a rare and powerful magical technique].

For a third-rate villain to find something so great and even break the seal?

Honestly, it was unbelievable.

There’s definitely someone behind it.

That’s what I thought, and I acted on it.

And my prediction was exactly right.

Marco didn’t get the dragon’s soul with his own power, but was given it by someone.

“The mysterious figure who gave Marco the dragon’s soul. Could it be Veil Stoll?”

The unidentified person who handed the dragon’s soul to Marco was called ‘Lord Stoll’ by his subordinate.

“I don’t know. It certainly seems to be related to Veil Stoll…”

A high-ranking black magician above the 8th circle.

The title ‘Stoll’.

In addition, the feat of finding a remnant of mythology, the dragon’s soul, and releasing its seal.

This extraordinary profile.

It’s clear that he’s a person related to Veil Stoll.

“There are three possibilities that come to mind right now.”

Mimir said, unfolding her fingers one by one.

“Either it’s the real Veil Stoll, or Veil Stoll’s successor, or someone who worships Veil Stoll is calling himself Stoll.”

“…Veil Stoll’s successor?”

I had already considered the possibility that it could be Veil Stoll himself or that someone among Veil Stoll’s worshippers was calling himself Stoll.

However, that second possibility.

The possibility of Veil Stoll’s successor was something I hadn’t even thought of.

“Could Veil Stoll even have a successor?”

That’s because the black magic Veil Stoll uses is a power created by sacrificing everything—the future and the past—for the present.

There’s no way there could be a successor to magic that has abandoned the future.

So, I had unconsciously excluded the possibility of a successor.

But, there could be a successor?

“Originally, there shouldn’t be one. He shouldn’t have a successor…”

Mimir frowned, looking displeased.

“The Black Magic King. Didn’t he open a new horizon for black magic?”

“Are you talking about the new black magic created by using a medium of myth?”

“Yeah. That.”

Mimir’s expression became even sharper.

“That means that black magic has achieved a new evolution, right?”

“…I guess so?”

If it’s an evolution, it’s an evolution.

“And if it has evolved, it doesn’t mean that there’s no future at all.”

“…I guess that’s what it means.”

He sold the past and the future for the present, but perhaps, in preparation for a possible defeat, he left a very small possibility for the future.

Is that it?

“If there’s even a small possibility for the future, it means there’s also a possibility that a successor exists, right?”

A successor means the future.

If the power has no future at all, a successor cannot exist.

However, if the power has some future, there is a good chance that a successor exists.

“…That makes sense.”

“Right?”

I was convinced.

Certainly, the possibility exists.

“But, if a successor exists. Why hasn’t he shown himself until now?”

Let’s assume that Veil Stoll’s successor exists.

According to Marco, that person is a high-ranking black magician above the 8th circle, so he must have started learning power around the same time as me at the latest.

If a successor really exists, he should have shown himself a long time ago.

“There was also the Black Magic Tower. There’s no reason to hide.”

To be Veil Stoll’s successor is the same as being the potential master of all black magicians.

If I were him, I would have started by seizing the Black Magic Tower as soon as I had gained some power.

If seizing it was impossible, I would have asked for help.

“Well. He might just be an overly cautious person…”

Because he’s cautious, he hasn’t shown himself until the end.

That’s a plausible hypothesis.

“Or maybe he realized the Black Magic King’s true purpose and hid even more.”

The Black Magic King’s true purpose.

To kill Veil Stoll and break free from the curse.

If Veil Stoll’s successor actually exists and has noticed the Black Magic King’s dark intentions, it’s understandable why he hasn’t shown himself until now.

“…Well, it’s just a hypothesis close to a delusion without any evidence.”

“All the hypotheses we’re making now are bound to be close to delusions anyway.”

“That’s true.”

The only information we currently have is that he’s a high-ranking black magician above the 8th circle and that he was called ‘Lord Stoll’.

There’s not enough information to make a proper hypothesis.

“Anyway. These are the three possibilities.”

Either it’s Veil Stoll himself.

Or Veil Stoll’s successor.

Or a follower of Veil Stoll.

“Among these, the worst case is if he’s the real Veil Stoll.”

“…Right. That’s the worst.”

If that man is Veil Stoll himself, things will get quite difficult.

If he’s the real Veil Stoll, the remaining grace period might not be 6 months, but 6 days.

“…This is a headache.”

My head is throbbing.

I was already in a situation with many questions. And now, an even bigger question has been added.

My head is too complicated.

It’s so complicated that it feels like my brain will overload and explode.

“Let’s… put aside the question of his identity for now. Thinking about it more won’t mean anything.”

I forcibly endured the headache that was pressing down on my head and opened a new topic.

“What’s important now is how he got the dragon’s soul. And…”

“What he was trying to achieve by handing that dragon’s soul to Marco.”

Mimir took over my words.

“That’s right. That’s the key. If we find that out, we’ll get a better idea of his identity.”

If you know the purpose, you can know about the opponent.

We have to find out his purpose somehow.

“But, even if we find out the purpose, we don’t know his whereabouts or anything.”

Mimir was lost in thought with a troubled expression.

She seemed to be wondering where and how to get his information.

“Even if we don’t know his whereabouts, we can know where he’s likely to appear.”

“…What is it?”

Mimir stared at me, as if asking what the method was.

“First of all, isn’t the fact that Marco is using the dragon’s soul to carry out terrorism one of his purposes?”

I don’t know what he was trying to achieve, but the fact that Marco is carrying out global terrorism using the dragon’s soul must also be part of that ‘Stoll’ guy’s plan.

“Then, for him, the current situation where Marco is captured and the terrorism itself is foiled is against his plan.”

“Ah!”

Mimir exclaimed as if she had realized something.

“He’s going to try to increase the scale of the terrorism again by using the remaining dragons for his purpose?”

“I think there’s a high probability of that.”

And now that the puppet called Marco is gone, he will have no choice but to move himself to increase the terrorism.

“Maybe. If we follow the movements of the dragons, we’ll be able to get information about him.”

Following the movements of the dragons.

That’s the most urgent thing we need to deal with right now.

If we solve that, information about that ‘Stoll’ person will naturally come into our hands.

“Mimir. I’ll get the authority to access the databases of each country right now. Access it and…”

“You want me to track the movement of mana stones [magical energy sources] around the world and create a mana stone map, right? I understand.”

Mimir smiled confidently, as if to say, leave it to me.

“I’ll take care of this, so the successor…”

“I know. In the meantime, you want me to focus on making the mana I received from the dragon my own.”

“As expected of the successor. You get it right away.”

I looked at Mimir and smiled with the same expression.

* * *

A week had passed.

In the meantime, the World Federation succeeded in dealing with a total of 11 dragons.

Three in Europe. Two in North America. Two in South America. One in West Asia. And two in East Asia. One in Africa.

That’s a total of 11.

“Heh heh. It’s going smoothly.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Every time a dragon’s location is discovered, a countermeasures meeting is held.

Since everyone has returned to their home countries, the meeting is being held using communication devices.

“Shin Hayul. That little hero’s words were all correct.”

“He’s truly an amazing child. From his magical skills to his ability to see through the essence of things, his insight, and his responsiveness that makes the most of everything.”

“Head Shin Inhyuk must be happy. To have such a wonderful son.”

“Hahahaha.”

A very good atmosphere.

It’s as if they had never been at each other’s throats a week ago, laughing and joking.

“And that’s not all. What about Mr. Ji Soonchan and Ms. Adela? If it weren’t for their support, Europe would have suffered great damage again.”

“Heh heh. They are the hope of Korea and the hope of the world.”

“Those children are the future of this world. Hahaha.”

Normally, everyone would be wary of Korea’s rise and say unpleasant things.

But today, no one is showing any signs of doing so.

Far from saying unpleasant things, everyone is sincerely celebrating Korea’s rise.

“Head Shin Inhyuk. I’m planning to send a gift to Ji Soonchan and Adela as a token of gratitude. Could you deliver it?”

Adela and Ji Soonchan.

They are currently called heroes.

Dragon slayers who travel around the world and fight dragons.

The number of people who have been saved thanks to them is at least in the tens of millions.

“…I don’t mind, but there was a request to refuse anything too expensive.”

Because of that, gifts are pouring in from all over the world for Ji Soonchan and Adela.

All sorts of gifts filled with the intention of creating ties with them.

“Haha. I know. It’s too famous that they refuse heavy gifts.”

So, they flatly refused any expensive gifts.

They said they would refuse to carry the burden of gifts and sent all the gifts back.

“Children’s handwritten letters are pouring into the government. I’d like to send them to you.”

“Letters are fine anytime.”

Shin Inhyuk nodded slightly.

“However, please understand that we will check them first before handing them over.”

“Haha. Of course.”

The warm atmosphere became even more prevalent.

“Ahem. So, what was the extent of the damage from the terrorist attack in West Asia this time?”

As if he hated that ticklish atmosphere, a man cleared his throat and brought up the main topic.

He was making a face that said, isn’t this enough small talk?

“Ah, I’m sorry. I should have spoken up first.”

At that time, one of the representatives of the country that suffered damage from the West Asian terrorist attack stood up.

“First, if I just tell you the result. The damage from this terrorist attack is almost 0.”

“…Oh.”

“0? Do you mean there was none?”

“Yes.”

The man smiled contentedly.

“There was some property damage, but no human casualties. Not a single person was injured.”

“Huh. Is that possible?”

“I heard that this terrorist attack broke out in the capital.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“But, there wasn’t a single person injured?”

“Amazing. How could that be?”

“We were lucky.”

The man’s smile deepened.

“Shin Hayul was there at that location at that time.”

The man displayed a screen of the incident at the time.

“What is this…”

Everyone gasped.

The scene in the picture that appeared on the screen was so shocking.

They couldn’t help but scream.

“Alone… did he create a protective barrier that covers the entire capital?”

The magic that Shin Hayul seemed to have unleashed in the picture was far beyond the bounds of common sense.