The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 42

The Rebirth of the Mythical Archmage-43

Inside the limousine speeding down the Olympic Expressway, Kim Seok-hyun was reporting to Shin In-hyuk.

“It seems that Min-hyuk and Min-ji aren’t very interested in Ha-yul, sir.”

Kim Seok-hyun had been ordered by Shin In-hyuk to ensure Shin Ha-yul’s safety until the Olympiad.

Today’s report was related to that protection.

“And surprisingly, it seems that Se-ah isn’t showing much interest either.”

“Hmm.”

That was quite unexpected.

Even if Shin Min-hyuk and Shin Min-ji weren’t, for Shin Se-ah not to be interested in Shin Ha-yul was surprising.

“It seems that the head of the family’s orders have had a significant effect.”

“…It seems she’s managed to suppress her fiery temper a little.”

Considering Shin Se-ah’s reckless personality, he thought she would likely cause trouble for Shin Ha-yul regardless of Shin In-hyuk’s orders.

His expectations were wrong.

It seemed she had grown a bit mentally in the past year.

“It’s true that Se-ah’s temper has become a bit milder, but rather than that, I think she’s being cautious because she knows that I and the Shadow are with Ha-yul, sir.”

“That must be it.”

Shin Se-ah also knew about the Baek Sa-hyuk attack.

The Shadow had moved as a whole to conceal the incident. Shin Se-ah would have naturally grasped the Shadow’s movements.

In this process, she would have been certain that Kim Seok-hyun and the Shadow were with Shin Ha-yul.

“And lastly, regarding Ji-han, sir, he also seemed to have no interest in Ha-yul at all.”

“…No interest?”

“Yes. There was a feeling that he was being wary, but that was all. He seemed even less interested than Se-ah, sir.”

“Were there any signs of him monitoring Ha-yul?”

“No. None at all. It’s clean.”

“…I see.”

Since Kim Seok-hyun was so certain, Shin Ji-han truly had no intention of doing anything to Shin Ha-yul.

“I will continue to be cautious, but considering that there has been no movement so far, I believe that at least until the period the head of the family promised protection, they will not show any particular actions.”

“…It seems so.”

Shin In-hyuk had the same opinion as Kim Seok-hyun.

‘Not bad.’

Shin Ji-han and Shin Se-ah.

It seemed that both of them had learned to distinguish between personal feelings and public actions.

They seemed to have grown quite a bit in the past year.

“Is that the end of the report?”

Shin In-hyuk asked with a sharp gaze. That wasn’t all Shin In-hyuk had asked him to investigate.

The most important thing remained.

“…”

Kim Seok-hyun rechecked the soundproof barrier separating the driver’s seat and the back seat of the limousine.

He was worried that the report he was about to give might be overheard by the driver, so he made a final check.

“Lastly, I will report on whether there is anyone within the family who is in contact with the Black Magic Tower.”

Shin In-hyuk had doubts about the previous Leng Smith incident and the Baek Sa-hyuk attack.

‘Why did Leng Smith move at that particular timing?’

‘Why did he try to do something during the test, just when Shin Ha-yul started to stand out?’

‘Could Leng Smith’s target have been Shin Ha-yul?’

‘Was it a coincidence that Baek Sa-hyuk attacked Shin Ha-yul?’

‘Was it also a coincidence that Baek Sa-hyuk was armed with an IL chip and Berserker, which were practically evidence of the Black Magic Tower?’

‘If it wasn’t a coincidence. If these two incidents were not separate incidents but one single incident.’

‘The Black Magic Tower might have been targeting Ha-yul under someone’s orders.’

‘And if someone is ordering the Black Magic Tower to target Ha-yul now, it’s most likely someone within the Mado Shin family.’

The possibility wasn’t very high, but it was related to the Black Magic Tower.

If it became known that someone inside was in contact with the Black Magic Tower, the Mado Shin family’s position would be shattered.

That’s why Shin In-hyuk had Kim Seok-hyun investigate the members of the Mado Shin family.

It was an extreme measure to avoid the worst-case scenario, assuming even a one-in-a-million chance.

“First, I have completed the investigation of 32 people, including the elders who are dissatisfied with Ha-yul and the high-ranking executives of each affiliate.”

“The results?”

“It’s clean. As far as the Black Magic Tower is concerned.”

There were no contacts among the 32 people investigated this time.

“It sounds like it’s not clean if it’s not limited to the Black Magic Tower.”

“Yes. You’ve understood correctly.”

Kim Seok-hyun took out a stack of documents from his briefcase.

“Five of the 32 have quite dirty backgrounds. If things had escalated further, the hyenas might have noticed.”

Shin In-hyuk quickly read through the documents he received.

Indeed, Kim Seok-hyun was right to say they had dirty backgrounds.

“It seems it would be better for the head of the family to handle this quickly.”

“Yes.”

He was planning to do so anyway.

These guys had crossed the line quite a bit.

If they were allowed to continue running rampant, they would surely tarnish the name of the Mado Shin family.

“I’ll take care of these five myself. Seok-hyun, I’ll ask you to continue the investigation.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And…”

Shin In-hyuk’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Continue to keep an eye on Ji-han and Se-ah’s surroundings.”

“Yes, I will.”

* * *

After that, I was led by Elena to a nearby open space.

It was to pass on the ‘Divine Eye’ in order to fulfill her duty.

“Oh my. Have you already met Mimir?”

While lightly warming up in the open space, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to pass on the message Mimir had asked me to deliver.

I had been so out of it since the Drake that I had completely forgotten.

“Yes. Mimir said to tell you that she’s doing well.”

“…Is that so? It’s good to hear she’s doing well.”

Elena gave a wry smile.

It was a similar reaction to when Mimir had asked me to pass on her regards.

It was clear that there was some history between them.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I heard good news.”

“It’s nothing. I just passed on the message.”

There was no need to be thanked.

“By the way, if you met Mimir, you would have known about the Greenwood Forest or me in advance…”

Elena held her cheek and tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled.

She had a look that said she didn’t know why I was so surprised.

“…I didn’t know.”

“Oh? Didn’t Mimir tell you?”

“No.”

If I had known, I wouldn’t have been so surprised.

“She said she had a promise with Elena, but she didn’t tell me anything else.”

A promise.

The moment those two syllables came out, Elena’s face darkened.

“She remembered that promise. I can’t keep that promise anymore…”

She looked like she was regretting something.

“Elena?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I made the atmosphere too gloomy because of me.”

“No. It’s nothing.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Elena smiled brightly again, as if she had never been gloomy.

It was like a flower in full bloom.

“By the way, the fact that you mentioned a promise means that Mimir seems to like you quite a bit.”

“Huh?”

That was an unexpected remark.

Mimir liked me?

“Isn’t that so?”

“Well, we’re not on bad terms…”

Rather, we could say we were on good terms.

“Right?”

Elena smiled knowingly, as if she knew it all along.

That made me feel even more self-conscious.

“What, exactly, was that promise about?”

It was a personal matter, and both of their reactions were a bit strange, so I was trying not to ask if possible, but I couldn’t help it. I was too curious.

I thought there was a high chance she wouldn’t answer, but I had to ask anyway.

“It’s something.”

“…It’s a secret, as expected.”

As expected, I couldn’t get an answer.

“Of course. It’s a promise between the two of us. I can’t tell even Ray, let alone the successor.”

Elena’s smile became wistful, as if she was reminiscing about the past.

“Then, what kind of relationship do you have with Mimir?”

“We’re friends.”

“Friends…”

Mimir and Elena were friends.

And Elena had introduced herself as Ray’s confidante and was a real person from the past.

“That means Mimir was also a real person from the past, like Elena.”

Elena seemed a little surprised at my words.

“…She hasn’t even told you that yet. Really… typical of Mimir.”

Then she smiled wryly again.

It was a slightly different feeling than before.

It was like a mother smiling wryly at the actions of a thoughtless child.

“I’m sorry, successor, but I don’t think I can answer that question. I can’t say something that my friend is keeping a secret.”

“You’re saying I should hear it directly from Mimir.”

“Yes.”

“I understand.”

I had no intention of forcing an answer.

“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to the successor finding Mimir’s book at this early stage, I was able to hear news of her like this, even if it’s for the last time.”

Elena thanked me again.

“As I said before, I didn’t do anything. I just happened to find Mimir’s book.”

“Oh my. Then I should thank the successor’s good fortune.”

Elena covered her mouth and laughed playfully.

She seemed to be in a much better mood than before.

It was a smile that made me feel good just by looking at it.

“I’ll repay you for this with the Divine Eye training.”

“Ah, I’d appreciate that. Please make it as intense as possible.”

Training should be intense. Hmm.

“You’re just like Ray’s successor. You’re the same in that aspect.”

Elena chuckled.

“Then, as the successor requested, I will train you harshly. Be prepared.”

Elena smiled.

It was a smile that made me feel uneasy.

“Then, would you please come over here and sit with your back to me?”

“Yes.”

I sat down on the tree stump that Elena was pointing to.

Elena placed her hand on my back and infused mana.

Elena’s mana instantly merged with my Infinity Circle and circulated inside my body.

“First, I’ll explain about the Divine Eye. You don’t know anything about the Divine Eye, do you?”

“Yes. I only just learned that my eyes are called the Divine Eye.”

The word Divine Eye could not be found in either Idred’s book or Mimir’s book.

“You can find information about the Divine Eye in Mimir’s book after you reach the 4th circle.”

“From the 4th circle?”

Awakening the Divine Eye was at the 3rd circle, but the information comes out at the 4th circle?

“Yes. Ray removed all information about the Divine Eye because I’m on the third test page anyway.”

“…Is there a reason to remove the information?”

Elena’s expression became slightly angry.

“He said that if the successor were to learn the Divine Eye on their own, I would have nothing to do. Funny, right?”

“…”

It didn’t look funny at all. She seemed a bit offended.

“There were also problems such as excessive information and excessive occupancy.”

“Ah.”

Mimir had said the same thing.

Due to reasons such as excessive information, processing capacity, and occupancy, only abbreviated information was recorded in Idred’s book.

It must be related to that.

“Oops. I got sidetracked again.”

Elena focused on my body’s Infinity Circle again.

“Anyway, the Divine Eye is the foundation of the Bytener style, on par with the Infinity Circle. It’s characterized by growing in accordance with the Infinity Circle.”

Elena’s mana, which had been circulating through my body, slowly began to concentrate on my head, specifically my eyes.

“The Divine Eye has the power to see through the essence of mana. In the 1st circle, you can see the color of mana. In the 2nd circle, you can see the fragmentary structure of magic formulas.”

At the same time, Elena moved her hand from my shoulder to my eyes.

My eyes were covered, and darkness fell instantly.

“And in the 3rd circle, you will be able to see through the essence of magic.”

“The essence of magic…”

“For that, you must first be able to see mana when you want to.”

Mana seeped into my retina.

Even the last bit of light that was visible between Elena’s fingers completely disappeared.

“The mana that can be seen with the Divine Eye is a sixth sense that has nothing to do with sight. To awaken that sense, you need to completely seal off the other senses first.”

Elena’s hand fell from my face. Nevertheless, my eyes were still in complete darkness.

Even blinking didn’t change anything.

“How is it? You can’t see anything, right?”

“…What kind of magic is this?”

Darkness Blind and other vision-blocking magic were literally magic that cast darkness in front of the eyes, blocking vision.

In other words, it was a type of magic that didn’t directly affect the eyes but rather put a blindfold over them.

However, the magic Elena used didn’t feel like something was covering my eyes, but rather like I had actually gone blind.

“I blocked the nerves in your eyes with mana. You can’t completely block vision with vision-blocking magic.”

“Block the nerves in my eyes…?”

I had never heard of such magic.

“You shouldn’t be surprised by this much. It hasn’t even started yet.”

“Huh?”

“I told you, right? The Divine Eye is a sixth sense that is different from the five senses. When training the sixth sense, the other senses are just a hindrance.”

At that moment, I felt a sense of discomfort throughout my body.

A feeling that my body wasn’t my own.

Even when I touched my skin with my hand, I felt nothing.

“I erased your sense of touch.”

Next, the smell disappeared.

The fresh scent that filled the forest instantly turned odorless.

“Smell. Next, taste.”

I didn’t feel much of a change in taste.

But it must have disappeared.

“Lastly.”

Hearing.

I couldn’t hear those words.

Before I could hear those words, all sound disappeared.

‘Am I… even alive right now?’

A world where all senses had disappeared.

It was like death itself.