The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 423

The Black Magic King had once conducted research on mythical magic.

“Has it been three years now?”

The result of that research was the ‘darkness’ he used two years ago.

“Shin Ha-yul. Back then. Do you remember the mythical magic I used?”

“Of course, I remember.”

I could only guess that it was the power of a god who controlled ‘darkness.’

I didn’t know anything else.

“The name of that magic is Nox. It’s a dark magic derived from the relic of Nox, the god of darkness.”

“……Nox.”

So, that was the name, Nox.

“It is speculated that Nox was in a considerably high position among the gods.”

In the divine realm, the god who controlled light was at the highest position.

And light is the opposite of darkness.

Naturally, Nox, the god who controlled darkness, would also have been in a comparable position.

“Did you have a conversation with Nox?”

“Yes.”

“……I see.”

As expected, the Black Magic King met Nox and seemed to have directly received power from him.

He must have met and talked with Nox, indirectly gaining information that Nox was a god in a rather high position.

“Among the things I heard from Nox back then, there was content about Mora.”

“Nox did?”

Nox brought up Mora?

Why?

“While talking about Mora, he advised me to find Mora.”

“Why Mora…….”

Nox is a god who, by all accounts, belongs to the evil side.

It’s highly unlikely that he has any connection or friendship with Mora.

There’s no reason for him to advise me to find Mora.

“It wasn’t just a suggestion that it would be good to find her. He said to find her no matter what. That’s what Nox said.”

“……No matter what?”

“Yes. He said that if I couldn’t find Mora, I wouldn’t be able to control my power.”

The Black Magic King shook his head, as if he was still disgusted by the thought.

“Thanks to that, I suffered quite a bit. How much time and manpower did I invest to find a relic whose name was all I knew….”

“Wait. Just a moment.”

I couldn’t just let those words pass.

“You said you couldn’t use your power before finding Mora?”

“Yes.”

“But…… you did use it.”

“It was still lacking, but I did succeed in using it.”

“That means…….”

The Black Magic King chuckled.

“Yes. I succeeded in finding Mora.”

The Black Magic King had found Mora.

He found Mora, and the contract with Nox was successfully fulfilled.

That’s what those words meant.

“I found her three years ago, two months before fighting you.”

The Black Magic King smacked his lips with a somewhat regretful expression.

“It’s still a shame when I think about it. If I had found her just a little earlier…….”

If that had been the case, the darkness the Black Magic King controlled would have been incomparably stronger than it was back then.

Then we wouldn’t have had a chance to win.

“That’s a fortunate thing for us.”

“Hmm. It’s indeed a fortunate thing from your perspective.”

It was a shame for the Black Magic King, but it was fortunate for me.

“Anyway. Back then, I found the relic of Mora, the Goddess of Time. I found it and hid it in a certain place.”

It was an unexpected turn of events.

I never imagined that the Black Magic King already had Mora in his possession.

“Where is that place?”

The Black Magic King smiled.

It was a very meaningful smile.

“Well, it’s not something I can just tell you for free.”

“…….”

I had a hunch, but as expected.

There was no way the Black Magic King would come out so easily.

It seemed like he wanted something.

“If I don’t find Mora now, the world will fall into the hands of Veil Stoll. That’s not what you want either.”

“Certainly. That’s not what I want.”

The Black Magic King continued, still with the same smile.

“However. I also don’t want to be discarded after defeating Veil Stoll.”

“…….”

It was a predictable answer.

The Black Magic King is helping us out of necessity, but he is originally an enemy.

We are working together because the enemy of an enemy is an ally.

“From my perspective, it’s a loss if one side wins overwhelmingly.”

If the battle ends with our overwhelming victory, what will happen next?

It’s obvious.

The Black Magic King will leave this world without any chance to do anything.

The more power we have left, the sooner the Black Magic King’s end will come.

The Black Magic King is worried about that.

“What do you want?”

I understood the Black Magic King’s position.

From the Black Magic King’s perspective, it’s natural to set conditions.

‘He will never hand it over without conditions.’

There’s no way he would just hand over the powerful card that is Mora.

It’s better to accept his demands as much as possible.

That’s the most certain way.

“I’ll tell you in advance. I won’t accept any unreasonable conditions…….”

“You don’t need to worry about that. If I were to propose excessive conditions, it would be like trying to get rid of a small problem only to create a bigger one in the future. I know better than anyone that you wouldn’t accept such a proposal.”

“……You know that well.”

“I have to. I’ve been spending the last few days with these two.”

The Black Magic King shook his head as if he was fed up.

It seems he has been quite tormented, being stuck between Sein and Sophia.

“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about that. What I want as a condition is not that big of a deal.”

It doesn’t seem like he’s going to propose a trivial condition.

“……Okay, I’ll listen.”

It’s not too late to think after hearing the conditions.

I listened to the Black Magic King.

“Just once is enough. I would like the opportunity to come out when I want.”

An opportunity to come out once?

“Are you saying you want the right to move your body unconditionally, without the permission of Sein or Sophia?”

“Yes.”

“That’s…….”

It’s a very strange condition.

I was expecting something grand, but it’s definitely not that.

But if I think about whether it’s a trivial condition, it doesn’t seem like that either.

“First of all…… I don’t think that’s something I can agree to.”

The right to use the body.

That’s something I need to get permission from Sein and Sophia, not me.

“It’s something you can agree to. These two are okay with it if you allow it.”

……That’s what I thought.

But it wasn’t.

Sein and Sophia passed the choice to me.

……They passed on a troublesome task.

“Why are you hesitating so much? It doesn’t seem like I’ve proposed an unreasonable condition.”

The Black Magic King smiled leisurely, with a relaxed expression.

He looked like he was sure I wouldn’t refuse.

“You don’t have to think too seriously. This is just a promise. There’s no coercion at all. Just because we made a promise here doesn’t mean we have to keep it. If the situation isn’t favorable, you can ignore it. It’s just a trivial promise.”

“……That’s why I’m hesitating more.”

The condition the Black Magic King proposed is too strange.

‘I thought he was trying to balance both sides by taking control of the body from Sein at a crucial moment…….’

That’s impossible.

Regardless of the promise, Sein currently has a firm grip on the body’s control.

If Sein doesn’t give it up, that’s the end of it.

Since it’s just a ‘promise’ without any coercion, such a thing is absolutely impossible.

‘What is he thinking, proposing such a condition?’

What benefit is there in that condition?

What benefit is there for him to make such a proposal?

I have no idea.

That’s why I feel uneasy.

That’s why I’m hesitating right now.

“If you feel uneasy, you can refuse. Judging by how you’re hesitating to answer, you must have another way to find Mora. You can just use that method.”

It seems he has become certain that I have another means, judging by my delayed response.

Certainly. If I didn’t have another way, I wouldn’t be hesitating so deeply right now.

It was a reasonable deduction.

“……Is that really all you want?”

“Yes. One chance to gain control of this body when I want. That’s enough.”

“……Regardless of the promise, it would be impossible to come out if Sein doesn’t agree, right? Do you still want that condition?”

“Yes.”

“…….”

It was a proposal I couldn’t understand at all.

What is the Black Magic King aiming for?

What is he aiming for with such a proposal…….

‘……No. Let’s not think too deeply.’

Thinking too deeply will only make me more on edge.

Now is the time for a firm decision, rather than deep contemplation.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Objectively speaking, it’s a condition where we have nothing to lose.

‘If I use Phineas, I can find Mora, but it will take at least a week.’

The price for saving a week is just making a promise that doesn’t have to be kept.

There’s no reason to refuse.

“Hmm. An acceptance. The means you possess must be time-consuming.”

If I had a quick and sure way to find it, there would be no reason to accept this condition.

The fact that I hesitated and then accepted the proposal is proof that there is some problem with the means I have.

That’s what the Black Magic King is thinking.

“That’s a relief. I was worried about what to do if you rejected my proposal. It’s truly a relief.”

The Black Magic King said with an expression that showed no sign of relief.

It was an expression perfectly suited to make the other person feel uneasy.

“……Enough, just tell me where Mora is.”

I can’t keep being dragged around by the Black Magic King like this.

I immediately moved on to the main topic.

“Mora is in a place you know well.”

A place I know well?

“……You don’t mean it’s in Korea, do you?”

The only place I know well is Korea.

“No. Unfortunately, it’s not Korea.”

“Then…….”

Excluding Korea, the place I know well is…….

“I think I misspoke. I should have said it’s in a place you would know.”

“…….”

The nuance of his words changed so much.

“No. It would be more accurate to say it’s in a place related to you, me, and the two inside me.”

“……A place related to the four of us here…… a place I would know well…….”

There’s only one answer.

“The old Black Magic Tower’s headquarters…… is it?”

Three years ago.

The land where we had our final battle.

The Black Magic King’s castle and the headquarters of the Black Magic Tower.

“That’s correct. Mora is hidden in the Black Castle.”

The Black Castle.

The place where Mora was hidden was the Black Castle.

“I don’t know the exact location…… I remember the place where I originally left it……. But I don’t think it’s still there.”

“……I guess not.”

Almost three years have passed.

The Black Castle has become a place where no one can set foot.

It’s not that entry is prohibited for control reasons.

Entry is prohibited for safety reasons.

“Since it was so thoroughly destroyed…… it’s natural that it’s not in that place.”

The Black Castle is now completely destroyed.

Due to a certain incident that occurred a year and a half ago, its structure was completely destroyed.

“It’s embarrassing to say it myself, but it won’t be easy to find Mora. The inside is already like a labyrinth.”

The Black Castle is a magical fortress created by the Black Magic King using all sorts of magic.

From the barrier to the internal structure.

There is no place where magic was not used.

That fortress collapsed.

As it collapsed, the magic and magical devices installed inside all collapsed.

“It’s still absurd when I think about it. To think someone would try to destroy that castle. Whose idea was that?”

The collapsed magic and devices mixed, clashed, and merged.

As a result, the Black Castle is now like a labyrinth, a dungeon.

“We didn’t destroy the Black Castle. It was an incident closer to a terrorist attack by the remnants of the Black Magic Tower.”

“Indeed. So that’s what it was. If that’s the case, it’s not incomprehensible.”

The Black Magic King chuckled.

I sighed as I looked at the Black Magic King.

“I thought things were going to be a little easier…….”

Of course not.

It seems this matter won’t be easily resolved either.