The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 384

While Shin Ha-yul was engrossed in his training at the Hallamanium site,

the world was still battling dragons.

“Ten seconds ago. A dragon was detected in the sea near Australia.”

“……What’s the mana level detected by the satellite?”

“21.23%. It’s assessed to be a Level B threat.”

Countries had agreed to establish a new threat level system specifically for dragons.

The threat level was determined by the amount of mana a dragon possessed.

Level B, with a mana level of 20-25%, meant it would take about 20 Eighth Circle mages to handle.

Compared to the previous monster threat ranks, it was far beyond S-rank.

“Level B……”

The commander of the headquarters looked grim.

Level B meant 20 Eighth Circle mages, but there were only 72 Eighth Circle mages in the world right now.

In other words, stopping this dragon attack would require gathering 30% of all existing Eighth Circle mages.

“How many forces can reach the site within 10 minutes?”

“Ten… no, eleven.”

And gathering 30% of the mages was practically impossible.

Due to international agreements, summoning high-circle mages wasn’t difficult, but the time it took for them to respond and arrive was the problem.

“How long will it take to gather all 20?”

“……It’s estimated to take at least 30 minutes. If we can hold out until then…”

“Thirty minutes is impossible.”

Level B.

A dragon with 21% mana was a monster among monsters.

If left unchecked for just 10 minutes, all of Australia would be burned to ashes.

There was no way they could hold out for 30 minutes against such a creature.

“……I have no choice. I didn’t want to burden him any further, but…”

The commander bit his lip.

With no way to gather forces within 10 minutes, there was only one option left.

“Send a support request to Mr. Shin.”

Requesting support from Shin Ha-yul of the Mado Shin family.

That was the only option left.

“Yes, sir. Right away…”

Just as his subordinate was about to answer with a salute,

“Commander! Right now, in North America…!”

Another subordinate rushed in, his face pale.

“Th-th-threat… level…”

He was trembling too much to speak properly.

His mind and mouth were completely paralyzed by fear.

“Calm down. What about the dragon in North America?”

“Th-threat level S…”

The subordinate said in a trembling voice.

“Mana level 57%… A Level S threat has appeared.”

“……!”

The commander slumped into his chair.

His whole body had lost its strength.

“Threat level… S…”

Mana level 57%.

According to Shin Ha-yul’s calculations, it was 70% as powerful as the one that appeared in France.

Based on internal indicators,

it was a monster that they couldn’t guarantee victory against, even if they gathered all the mages in the world.

And that monster had just appeared in North America.

“It’s over…”

The commander’s face darkened.

“C-commander! We still have our little hero. Even if it’s Level S, he might be able to do something…”

“That’s not what I mean.”

The commander chuckled hollowly.

“Mr. Shin will be able to handle a Level S threat.”

As the commander of the headquarters, he had witnessed Shin Ha-yul’s battles many times.

He was strong. Stronger than any mage he had ever seen.

If anyone could defeat a Level S threat, it would be Shin Ha-yul.

“There will be sacrifices, but he’ll probably stop it.”

If he helped, they could somehow stop it.

Some cities would collapse, and many mages would die, but

they would succeed in defeating the dragon.

As a result, North America would be saved.

“But…”

However.

“Australia is finished.”

Only North America would be saved.

Australia would not be saved.

“All forces will head to North America. Considering the threat level, it’s right to deal with that first.”

Australia would be abandoned.

All countries would move to deal with the Level S threat first.

“……It’s over. Everything. Australia’s history ends today.”

“Ah…”

The commander’s expression and the expressions of the situation room staff darkened instantly.

“We will die here today.”

Hope was shattered, and only despair remained.

“C-chief.”

It was then that a staff member called out to the commander in a trembling voice.

Holding a radio in one hand, he called out to the commander with a strangely bright expression.

“The Mado Shin family has contacted us.”

“……What?”

The Mado Shin family.

The small, prestigious family in Korea where the little hero, Shin Ha-yul, belonged.

No, the family that used to be small.

“Connect them right away.”

“Yes, sir.”

The commander touched the earpiece he had been wearing.

“We received your call…”

—In 30 seconds, support will arrive there.

A male voice was heard over the phone.

The commander knew the voice well.

‘Shin In-hyuk.’

The current head of the Mado Shin family. It was Shin In-hyuk’s voice.

—So, release your battle stance and prepare for the aftershock.

The commander’s face went blank.

‘Release the battle stance? Aftershock?’

Shouldn’t they be preparing to cooperate when support arrives?

Why were they being told to release their battle stance?

And what did he mean by preparing for the aftershock?

He couldn’t understand Shin In-hyuk’s words at all.

—That’s all.

“Wait a…”

Just as the commander was about to ask Shin In-hyuk for more information,

he heard the sound of Shin In-hyuk putting down the radio.

It seemed like he was about to cut off the communication.

—Ah. One more thing. I forgot to mention this.

Then, Shin In-hyuk picked up the radio again.

‘Ah, that’s more like it.’

He thought he was finally going to explain the situation in detail.

However.

—Do not approach within 10km of the site. You’ll get caught up in it.

Contrary to his expectations, Shin In-hyuk said something incomprehensible again.

And that was it.

Shin In-hyuk’s transmission was cut off.

“What is this…”

The commander’s face went blank.

The situation was already absurd, but it had become even more so.

‘What is he doing?’

The commander frowned and glared at the radio.

He felt like he was being toyed with.

“Chief!”

Just as the commander was frowning and lost in thought,

the 30 seconds Shin In-hyuk had mentioned had passed.

“A, an unidentified person has appeared at the site!”

“……An unidentified person?”

“Yes! They’re wearing a mask, so we can’t identify them!”

The commander frowned.

“……Send the live feed to the main camera.”

“Yes, sir!”

The live feed of the site appeared on the central screen of the situation room.

“……Is that a woman?”

A figure that appeared to be a woman was floating in front of the Level B threat.

They were wearing a blue robe that covered their entire body, making it impossible to determine their gender.

“Is that… a Grim Reaper’s mask?”

The only distinguishing features were the blue robe and the black Grim Reaper mask that could be seen peeking out from within.

‘Is that the support Shin In-hyuk was talking about?’

It seemed likely.

“Is there any data on this person? Any information about them appearing elsewhere?”

“I’ll check right now.”

“Okay. Check it out. If anything comes up, report it immediately…”

Just as the commander was about to give an order to his subordinate,

*Kiiiiiing-*

A cold sound of metal scraping against metal echoed.

It was the sound of the unknown person wearing the Grim Reaper mask drawing their sword.

“……”

The commander’s eyes were drawn to the person’s sword.

For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off that sword.

—Don’t just stand there staring. Move.

Then, a voice was heard from the site.

A woman’s voice.

—You were warned to prepare for the aftershock. You heard it from Shin In-hyuk, didn’t you?

“……How?”

The woman was talking to him through the camera.

There was no way she could see them from over there.

Yet, she knew exactly what they were doing and was speaking to them.

How was that possible?

—There’s no time left. Ten seconds. Prepare everything in that time.

With those words, the woman drew her sword to the side.

—A tsunami is coming. A very large mega-tsunami.

From the sword she had drawn, a flash of white light emanated.

And the next moment.

*Swoosh-!*

The dragon’s body was cut in half.

And the next moment, the camera screen split in two.

The drone had also been cut in half by the aftereffects of the woman’s sword strike.

“……What… was that…”

The commander’s eyes trembled violently.

He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

A Level B threat had been killed in one strike.

Who was that person?

“Is she some kind of secret weapon of the Mado Shin family? Or…”

As he was deep in thought,

the woman’s warning from earlier came to mind.

‘A tsunami is coming. A very large mega-tsunami.’

The commander’s eyes widened, and he shouted.

“Tell the mages right now! A tsunami is coming!”

“Huh?”

“Just do it, quickly!”

“Yes, yes!”

And exactly five seconds later.

A mega-tsunami engulfed Australia.

“Code Red! Mega-tsunami! It’s coming!”

“The personnel at the site have begun to respond immediately!”

“It’s not too late!”

Fortunately, the mages gathered on the coast managed to block the tsunami.

“We stopped it! The dragon’s mana has also disappeared, and the situation is over!”

And so, in about 10 minutes, the whole situation was over.

They had been prepared to die.

It was an anticlimactic ending.

“……Hah.”

The commander wiped the cold sweat from his brow and sat down.

“What happened to that woman from earlier?”

“I don’t know. Right after she swung her sword, her mana went berserk. We lost track of her.”

“Her mana went berserk?”

“Yes. It was a level of mana that couldn’t even be compared to the dragon’s.”

“……Huh.”

The commander chuckled.

What on earth was that woman?

“……Whatever she is, we need to thank the Mado Shin family. They must be busy right now, so after everything is over…”

Suddenly, the commander’s eyes widened.

“Wait, what’s happening in North America? The situation there must be much worse than here.”

“Just a moment, I’ll check right now!”

The subordinate quickly touched the terminal and connected to the camera in North America.

The live feed of the site appeared on the main screen.

“……!”

“Th-th…”

As soon as they saw the video, everyone in the situation room widened their eyes.

“That Grim Reaper mask from earlier…!”

The video showed the woman wearing the Grim Reaper mask, who had been in Australia just moments ago.

She looked exactly the same as before.

Calmly holding her sword.

Confronting the Level S threat.

“Space… teleportation? No, there’s no way a swordsman can teleport…”

Faced with a series of incomprehensible phenomena, everyone’s minds froze.

* * *

The inside of the Hallamanium site shook as if an earthquake had struck.

“……This mana. A dragon?”

The dragon’s mana spread throughout the world, shaking even this place.

“Judging by the shock reaching even here, it must have at least 50% mana charge.”

Mimir said nonchalantly.

“Well, the Black Seso Trio will take care of it.”

He knew that 50% charge or whatever, it was nothing to Se-in now, so he was naturally indifferent.

“……What’s the Black Seso Trio?”

“It’s hard to call them by a specific name, so it’s the Black Magic King Se-in Sophia Trio. Black Seso Trio for short.”

“……Wow.”

That’s some amazing naming sense.

“Don’t use that title in front of Se-in or Sophia.”

“Why?”

“Just don’t. Don’t use it.”

If Se-in heard it, he might try to kill Mimir.

No. It’s not ‘might,’ he would definitely kill him.

“……Really? Well, if the successor tells me not to, I won’t… but I’m curious why.”

Mimir shrugged.

“Okay, I got it. I’ll just use it as a name in my head.”

“Do that.”

Black Seso Trio.

It was a title that would cause a huge uproar if those three heard it.

Just imagining it was terrifying.

“Well, whatever about the title or the dragon. Let’s just focus on what we have to do.”

Mimir turned his gaze back to the runes he had written on the floor.

These were the runes that made up Ignis, which he had broken down into 103 separate runes.

“……Whatever we have to do, we’re completely stuck right now.”

It was good that they had succeeded in separating them, but the next step was the problem.

After separating them, they weren’t showing any reaction.

If they were arranged in the order of Ignis’s incantation, they would turn into flames.

But separated like this, they didn’t react at all.

Thanks to that, they had been staring blankly at the runes for three hours.

“Tsk. I don’t get it. Each rune clearly has a meaning. Why is it that when they’re separated, they don’t react, but when they’re arranged in order, they become flames…”

Mimir clicked his tongue and examined each rune again.

I slowly scanned the runes, following Mimir’s gaze.

And at that moment.

“……Huh?”

“Huh?”

My gaze and Mimir’s stopped at the 48th and 49th runes.

The 48th and 49th runes were emitting light.

Just a moment ago, they hadn’t shown any reaction. Why all of a sudden?

“……Could it be? Did they react to the dragon’s mana from earlier…?”

“Ah!”

Mimir slapped his knee.

He had a look that said, ‘That’s it!’

“Wait. Just wait a minute. I just thought of something!”

Mimir excitedly began writing down a new hypothesis.