The Return of The Mythical Archmage [EN]: Chapter 425

After that, we immediately moved to the vicinity of the Black Castle.

“This is….”

No, it would be more accurate to say we moved to the area near the Black Castle.

“How are we supposed to get in there…?”

We were above the sea, near the island where the Black Castle was located.

Soonchan chuckled and said,

“No, is there even a way to get in in the first place?”

The state of the Black Castle was beyond imagination.

The mana was a complete mess.

Even if the largest mana maintenance facility in the United States exploded, it wouldn’t be this bad.

It felt like all the mana stones in the world were gathered and collapsed at once.

“……Well. Maybe there is if we look for it.”

It’s such a mess that there’s no clear way to enter the interior.

I have no idea where the gaps are or where the dangerous places are.

Everything is so chaotic that I can’t get a sense of it.

“Then is there a way to find it?”

“……We have to look for that too.”

It’s so messed up that I can’t even think of a way to infiltrate.

We have to find a way to find a way to infiltrate.

Does this even make sense?

“……Is that it?”

“Would it be?”

Soonchan shook his head with a blank expression.

I also shook my head, making eye contact with Soonchan.

“……It’s much more hopeless than I expected.”

“I know.”

I didn’t think it would be this bad either.

That place has gone beyond the level of being called a dungeon or a maze.

It wouldn’t be strange to call that place another world or another dimension.

“Let’s wait for now. Elena and Mimir went to find a way.”

Mimir and Elena. And Aslan.

These three are not here right now.

They are in the process of finding a way to deal with Dante Roa.

“……Can they even find a way? It’s such a mess.”

“It’ll be difficult, but… there might be a way.”

It’s right to wait for now.

Considering the risk, it’s best to avoid acting individually.

“Everyone, if you have any ideas, please tell me right away. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s good to have it as a hypothesis.”

“What would come to mind looking at that?”

Soonchan shook his head with an expression that said not to say nonsense.

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

I pointed to Adela, who was blankly observing the Black Castle next to Soonchan.

“Ah.”

Soonchan nodded with a convinced expression.

It was as if he was saying, ‘If you’re asking Adela, then it’s understandable.’

“Adela?”

Adela didn’t answer.

She was still staring blankly at the Black Castle.

She looked like she was thinking deeply about something.

She must be so deep in thought that she couldn’t hear me.

“Adela!”

I called Adela again, louder this time.

Adela flinched.

“Yes, yes?”

She seemed surprised by the sudden loud voice.

“Why so loud…?”

Adela said with a puzzled expression.

“Because you didn’t respond when I called you.”

“Ah.”

Adela replied with an ‘oops’ expression.

“What were you thinking about that you couldn’t hear me?”

“It’s nothing much, just… um… just… I was just observing the movement of mana.”

“The movement of mana?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not like you can just observe any mana you want.”

As I said, the mana near the Black Castle is a complete mess.

To make it easier to understand, imagine hundreds of millions of threads, as thin as they can be, tangled together to form a ball of yarn.

And observing the movement of mana is like unraveling those tangled threads one by one.

That’s physically impossible.

“Yes. It’s difficult.”

Adela became blank again.

“But… as I followed it, I feel like I’m getting a sense of it little by little. So I was watching it.”

That’s what it was.

I thought she was thinking of a way to infiltrate, but it wasn’t like that.

‘If even Adela and I can’t get a sense of it… then we can assume there’s nothing we can do here.’

Just as I came to that conclusion myself.

“Um….”

Stella, who had been silent from the start until now, spoke for the first time.

“I have one idea for how to infiltrate.”

“……Huh?”

It was an unexpected answer.

Stella came up with a way.

‘……How?’

Swordsmen and mages are different.

The only thing they have in common is that they both handle mana.

Other than that, it’s no exaggeration to say that everything else is different.

“This might not really work, but… it might, so… can I tell you?”

Ask a pharmacist for medicine.

Ask a swordsman for swords.

Ask a mage for magic.

The vortex of mana surrounding the Black Castle is derived from magic.

Therefore, only a mage can analyze this phenomenon.

That’s why I didn’t ask Stella for her opinion separately.

I didn’t think it was a situation that Stella, a swordsman, could solve.

But she has an idea? How did she come up with it?

I was lost in thought.

“……Was I unpleasant? Should I be quiet?”

Stella said in a timid voice.

Seeing my serious expression, she backed down for now.

“No, what do you mean unpleasant? I was just a little surprised and spaced out. Tell me.”

“……Yes.”

Stella nodded with a strangely shrunken expression.

“Then, um….”

I’ve been thinking about it since earlier.

Stella’s atmosphere has changed a lot. It’s like she’s become more aware of other people’s feelings.

The confidence and boldness that were the foundation of Stella have completely disappeared.

‘So that’s why Commander Charles was distrustful of Stella.’

Lack of confidence.

That’s the type that Commander Charles absolutely hates.

‘I thought she had recovered completely after training with Sein.’

It seems that wasn’t the case.

She has recovered, but it seems difficult to say that she has completely recovered.

There must still be mental scars left.

‘No, rather than mental scars. It’s more like she doesn’t have the face to see other people.’

Earlier, even though Commander Charles crossed the line, Stella didn’t show any reaction.

She just had a bitter expression and bowed her head as if she had no excuse.

Just like Commander Charles said, she must be ashamed of herself for crying alone like a tragic princess.

That’s probably why she’s in this state now.

‘If she’s in that state, she won’t come up with good ideas.’

That’s what I was thinking to myself when it happened.

“Maybe… I think I can cut it.”

An unexpected word popped out.

“……Cut it?”

“Yes.”

“That?”

“Yes.”

She was speaking with a lack of confidence and a timid voice.

I naturally thought she would say something passive.

‘Suddenly…?’

Suddenly she says she can cut it.

It was a statement that didn’t match her expression, tone, or actions at all.

What kind of combination is this?

I stared blankly at Stella.

“……Um, sorry. You don’t believe me, do you?”

Stella shrank back again.

I was just looking at her, but she apologized first.

It was a reaction that couldn’t be more passive.

This kind of person said something so bold?

Even thinking about it again, it was an unbelievable situation.

“No, it’s not that I don’t believe you. If you say you can cut it, then you can cut it.”

I remembered what Sein said right before we left.

‘Stella is strong. Probably more than you think. So you can trust and rely on her.’

I believe Sein’s words.

I believe in Sein, who believes in Stella.

If Stella says she can cut it, then I think she can cut it.

“Then….”

“But.”

However.

“Let’s postpone doing that for later. As I said before, it’s best to wait until Elena returns before taking action.”

Regardless of my belief, we can’t take action right now.

Elena might have come up with a better way.

It’s best to wait for now.

“Ah, right. Sorry. I was too hasty….”

Stella bowed her head again.

It’s like her self-esteem has completely shattered.

How much mental anguish did she have to go through for the confident Stella to become like this?

It was a pity.

“Successor. We’re back.”

Mimir returned just in time.

Following Mimir, Elena and Aslan also appeared one after another.

“You’ve worked hard. How is it? Did you find a way?”

I stopped talking and smiled bitterly.

Just by looking at Mimir’s expression and atmosphere, I could tell the situation.

“You couldn’t find it.”

“……Yeah.”

Even though these three put their heads together, they couldn’t find any way.

“This is troublesome. I can’t think of any way at all.”

Elena said with a sorry expression.

They couldn’t find a way, let alone a clue.

Elena’s expression was saying just that.

“In this case, we have no choice but to move forcefully, even if it means taking some risks.”

Aslan said with a serious expression.

It was an expression that seemed to say that some sacrifice was inevitable.

“No, it was said that four people are needed to open the seal that is sealing Mora. Is sacrifice impossible?”

Aslan lowered his eyes and clicked his tongue.

“It’s become difficult.”

“…….”

“…….”

Mimir and Elena were silent at the same time.

What should we do?

There is no answer.

That’s what their expressions seemed to say.

“……Um. So, does that mean there’s no other way?”

Stella quietly raised her hand and said.

“……Yeah. There isn’t. We have no choice but to go back and come up with a new plan….”

“Then…!”

A different light flashed in Stella’s eyes. It was an expression that gave off a very slight feeling of the confident Stella of the past.

“It’s okay to cut it, right?”

Mimir tilted her head.

“Cut? What?”

“Those messy mana clumps.”

“……What?”

Mimir’s eyes widened.

Elena, who had been listening quietly next to her, also looked surprised.

“Can you cut it?”

“Yes. Probably.”

“That?”

“Yes.”

Mimir’s eyes narrowed.

“How?”

“It’s not about using a method, it’s just….”

“Let me tell you in advance, even Sein Vinoche can’t cut that.”

Mimir said with sharp eyes.

“Of course, Sein Vinoche’s Heart Sword [a powerful sword technique] could cut it. But that’s it.”

Mimir pointed to the mana surrounding the Black Castle.

“Even if you cut it, it will return to its original state.”

In short, it’s the same as cutting a whirlpool in the sea.

You can cut it if you try, but the cut will be filled with other seawater right away.

The whirlpool will return to its original state as if nothing happened.

“You know that and you’re saying you can cut it?”

“…….”

Stella closed her mouth.

It was a mysterious expression that I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“If you’re just saying you can cut it….”

“I can cut it.”

Stella closed her eyes.

She closed her eyes and took a breath, as if making a resolution.

“Of course, me, and naturally, my mother too. Perfectly.”

When she opened her eyes again, Stella had a completely different expression than before.

An expression of anger.

“There is nothing that the Vinoche family’s sword cannot cut.”

She was angry at Mimir’s words earlier, ‘Even Sein Vinoche can’t cut it.’

Who are you to say that my mother can’t cut it? What do you know?

Stella’s expression was saying just that.

“I’ll prove it right here, right now.”

Stella took two steps forward.

Swish!

The sound of drawing a sword.

A clear sound rang out as the sword and scabbard rubbed against each other.

“Stop…!”

Mimir tried to stop Stella’s actions with a flustered expression.

“Mimir. Wait.”

I stopped Mimir.

“Let’s see.”

“But….”

I know what Mimir is worried about.

After cutting that much mana, the aftereffects will be no joke.

She must be worried that Stella will be hit by the backlash and get seriously injured.

It’s a situation where I should be worried too.

“It’s okay.”

But why?

I’m not worried.

Is it because Stella, who is holding the sword, has a similar atmosphere to before?

Or is it because I see Sein overlapping behind her back?

It doesn’t seem like she will fail.

“Just. Let’s watch.”

“…….”

Mimir closed her mouth with an expression that said she didn’t know what was going on.

“……Okay.”

She can’t understand, but she will be quiet because it’s my word.

That’s what her expression seemed to say.

I turned my gaze back to Stella.

Stella, who took a deep breath and gently gripped her sword.

A strange light settled on the sword that was slightly lowered.

A light that is familiar, yet unfamiliar.

A crystal of mana that is made up of mana that is more familiar to me than anything else, but has transformed into a form that I cannot be familiar with.

“That’s…!”

Elena shouted with wide eyes.

“Sein’s Heart Sword!”

Elena’s words were not finished.

No, they couldn’t be finished.

Stella’s sword cut off Elena’s words.

Along with Elena’s words, she cut through the world.

“……No way.”

Mimir muttered with a blank expression.

“Really…?”

Chiiing-!

Stella put the sword she had swung back into its scabbard and turned her body towards me.

“Did you see?”

She smiles brightly with a confident and bold expression and gesture, showing no sign of the timid appearance she had before.

“There is nothing in this world that the Vinoche sword cannot cut.”

The Heart Sword.

The secret technique of a swordsman that only Sein Vinoche could fully use.

It was perfectly reproduced in Stella’s hands.