50. A Noble Soul (8)
“I’m sorry. Applications have already closed. If you give up your player eligibility here, you’ll receive a major penalty… are you sure that’s okay?”
Those were words that drove Flame to despair.
She could not give up her League of Spirit player eligibility.
It was already infuriating enough that she had been forced into participating by that damned Jeremy’s scheme, and on top of that, she could not even freely choose her team.
“No, I can’t even switch teams? Why not?”
“Well… your affiliation is decided in advance when you apply. Miss Flame, you are firmly registered as belonging to ‘Team Scarlven.’”
“I don’t want to.”
“Pardon?”
Throwing a tantrum was something children did, but Flame was in no position to be worrying about dignity right now.
“Please. Unni, think of it as saving one person’s life—can’t you somehow at least change my team?”
“Well… the other teams already have all five of their participating players confirmed.”
“Still, there might be some way, right? Please. I’m begging you like this.”
When Flame clasped both hands tightly and looked at her with earnest eyes, the League of Spirit player manager felt her heart thud.
‘S-she’s cute…!’
Normally her personality was so fierce and she snapped around like a rabid little dog, but when she put on a quiet expression like that, she was that cute.
“Ahem, then let’s do this.”
The manager forcibly steadied herself and cleared her voice.
It was not right to be swayed by a single student, but when she was this desperate, could she not at least grant one request?
“There’s going to be an additional selection tournament this time, right? Go recruit four players there and form a team. Then it might be possible for your team transfer to go through.”
“R-really?”
“Honestly, I’d like to just make a team for you myself, but that’s outside my authority. Do you think you can get four people?”
At her words, Flame nodded vigorously.
She did not even have the faintest idea how she was supposed to gather four people immediately, but it was still a million times better than competing with Jeremy under the Scarlven banner.
Flame tightly took both of the manager’s hands in hers and looked at her with shining eyes.
“Thank you! I’ll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life!”
“…I don’t think I’ll ever forget this sight for the rest of mine, either.”
If it had been another student’s request, she might have just found it irritating, grumbling over the extra work,
but in Flame’s case, she had definitely received compensation(?), and that made it easier to settle her heart.
In fact, thanks to that compensation, it even felt as though all of her accumulated fatigue had been washed away, so perhaps it could be called a gain.
“Please make sure you bring back four people.”
“I will!”
Watching Flame run off excitedly like a child, the manager let out a deep sigh only afterward.
“Still… most of the additional applicants already belong to some group too. Is she really going to be able to gather them…?”
She was worried beyond belief, but there was nothing more she could do after this, so she decided to watch quietly.
No matter what, with someone as well-liked as Flame, bringing back four people ought to be easy enough.
“…Right?”
In the evening after classes ended.
When the students who did not live in the dorms left school, Ma Yuseong sometimes followed them out to Arcanium for a walk.
Strengthening his relationships with friends was one goal, certainly, but more importantly, it was to maintain secret communication with the outside world.
It was dangerous to meet his contact inside Stella.
Even if his dark-mage disguise was perfect and he appeared outwardly to be a flawless mage, as long as Vice Principal Akiheiden was watching, he always had to remain cautious.
Akiheiden was one of the Dark Mage King’s subordinates,
but he was not loyal in the slightest.
There was no knowing what kind of plot that sly man might be weaving inside, so it was best to move as quietly as possible while avoiding his gaze.
“Crow. Are you there?”
When Ma Yuseong spoke into empty air upon reaching a deserted alleyway, the shadow split open and a phantom in a black robe revealed itself.
“You called for me, Your Highness?”
“I wanted this delivered to Father. You can do that, right?”
“Of course. If it is Your Highness’s command, anything.”
As Crow accepted Ma Yuseong’s letter, he felt a strange sense of puzzlement.
Had this mature young prince ever really been the type to write letters to his father?
If anything, he seemed more the type to avoid conversation altogether. It was truly peculiar.
But one must not voice such doubts here.
He was a loyal hound. He merely obeyed orders.
“Oh, right. Did you find out what I asked about last time?”
At Ma Yuseong’s question, Crow swallowed hard.
There was only one piece of information that young prince wanted.
To find “Cheollibeon, Contractor of the Earth.”
According to rumor, he had contracted with one of the Twelve Divine Moons, Tawny Earth February, and thereby obtained an absolutely invincible body, but no one knew whether it was true. He had vanished completely from sight after the day the rumor spread.
“For now… we found him.”
“And after that?”
“Yes. We heard that he was briefly spotted at the Seoribal Garrison recently… but by the time our agent arrived later, every person at the site had already been slaughtered.”
“Hm. That’s a little regrettable.”
Ma Yuseong frowned faintly.
Most likely, Cheollibeon had noticed that someone was pursuing him, but had not been able to determine the exact position of the agent. He was not sensitive enough for that.
So he chose another option.
To kill everyone at the scene and leave no aftermath at all.
“He’s still as coolheaded as ever.”
“He erased all traces completely, so further pursuit proved impossible.”
“Tell them to rest for the time being. If another university massacre breaks out, everyone will get tired.”
Even as he said that, Ma Yuseong could not hide his disappointment.
Cheollibeon.
That man could make the thing he desired come true.
Why had he abandoned everything and gone into hiding without making even a single “attempt”?
With power like that, was there any reason to stay hidden?
Ma Yuseong could not understand it in the slightest.
“Oh, and recently, suspicious movement has been detected in the Black Magic Tower. They say they’re preparing a ‘Black Night Succession Rite.’”
“Hm….”
The world of dark mages was one where the strong devoured the weak.
It was a society where it was only natural for the strong to trample the weak and rise higher.
The Dark Mage King had become “king” because he possessed the greatest power, and for decades he had held that seat firmly without the slightest thought of stepping down.
Ever since the Dark Mage King came to power, how many dark mages had challenged him and ended up weeping tears of blood?
Now everyone knew.
The Dark Mage King was undoubtedly the strongest, and his rule had to be acknowledged.
But… if there was one problem, it was that rumors had spread that the Dark Mage King had once belonged to the former “Order of Light Mages.”
That special institution, once created by Stella Academy though now gone, had been established to annihilate dark mages, and during its very short lifespan of only a single year, it had become such a terrifying force that it drove dark mages into rat holes in fear.
And now a mage from that Order of Light was claiming, after falling to dark magic, to rule as king?
He might be the strongest, but as king, he could not be accepted.
Riding that wave of opinion, the underworld of the dark-mage alliance was said to be devising schemes even now to drive the Dark Mage King out.
“They’re doing useless things again.”
Ma Yuseong smiled without emotion.
He loathed his father deeply, but there was one thing he knew.
His father’s might… was not something that could be dealt with through petty scheming.
That was why Ma Yuseong was so desperate to find Cheollibeon.
Because he was the only “dark mage” who had stood against his father and survived.
‘A dark mage who at the same time received the blessing of one of the Twelve Divine Moons….’
Perhaps a peculiar case like that was absolutely unique in all the world.
“Did you confirm his last estimated destination?”
When he asked in lingering disappointment, Crow nodded as though the matter left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Yes. The tracking magic was cut off, but predicting the route was easy. He’s such a simple man…”
“Really?”
“Most likely, by now, he’s heading toward Namuhwaran’s Orchard of the Third World Tree. It was the only major city in that vicinity.”
“It’d be better not to provoke the elves. He won’t cause trouble there, will he?”
“I don’t think so. If he were to anger the World Tree and the Elf King, even someone like Cheollibeon would have a hard time of it.”
“Then that’s reassuring. He’s not a man thoughtless enough to overlook that.”
After saying so, Ma Yuseong smiled faintly.
“You’ve worked hard. Head back now. There’s nothing good about being exposed too long.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness.”
Leaving behind a short bow, Crow vanished once more into the shadows, and Ma Yuseong looked up at the sky, which was gradually growing darker.
“The sky looks especially dark today….”
It was a day with an unusual amount of cloud cover.
Bang!
“What do you mean, why am I only hearing about that now?!”
Magic Society. Central Sky Tower.
Valierki’s Star.
In the conference hall where grand mages sat gathered—men and women who had all announced over a hundred spells and were at least 7-Class—Vice Chairman Caladen shouted.
“The Seoribal Garrison has been wiped out…?”
The Seoribal Garrison had been established to subjugate the demonic beasts living on the Seoribal Plateau, and because it was made up of veteran magic warriors, it boasted fortress-like defensive power.
Ten years had already passed since it had been concluded that exterminating the demonic beasts was impossible. They had instead poured endless effort into fortification, thinking it better simply to prevent the beasts from invading.
And yet, total annihilation?
“…Calm down, Caladen.”
The Vice Chairman was about to shout again, but at the leisurely voice stopping him from behind, he closed his mouth tight and turned around.
The name of that young man in his twenties, who oversaw the Sky Tower as chairman of the Society and also served as the head of the Mage Union, was Aryumun.
Now over one hundred fifty years old, he found Caladen’s excitement over a matter like this rather irritating, if anything.
“Explain it step by step. Did some unexpected mutant demonic beast show up?”
“No… that’s not it. When we sent a search team to investigate later, there were no traces of a battle with demonic beasts.”
“Then you mean it was a dark mage?”
“Yes… and one that appears to use magic.”
“Hm.”
Dark mages who used magic were not especially common.
Most lost their reason when they underwent darkening, and even when they did not, they lost all of their mana and thus could not use spells.
But some dark mages used magic properly by making appropriate use of their “Traits” and their racial inheritance abilities, and they were the most dangerous—and most troublesome—kind.
“It appears the target uses earth-element magic. He doesn’t seem especially cautious by temperament, and yet every trace of him vanished completely and cleanly from the surface.”
“Really?”
An earth-aspected dark mage powerful enough to destroy Seoribal Garrison alone.
Was there not only one person who came to mind?
‘So after a full ten years, you’ve decided to show yourself again, Cheollibeon.’
But why now?
He had lived quietly all this time, so there was no reason for him to begin moving so suddenly.
Had someone gotten on his nerves?
Was that really necessary?
Question after question arose, but the first thing that came to mind was…
“…Looks like the dark succession rite is about to begin. They must be planning to enthrone that bastard as the new king. More than anything, he’s a pureblood dark mage.”
“Y-you mean a pureblood… dark mage?”
Apparently the term was rather unfamiliar to the other mages, because they voiced their puzzlement.
From a mage’s point of view, a dark mage was simply a dark mage; they did not classify bloodlines among them, so that was only natural.
“Yeah. They’re funny… they even divide themselves by origin and stuff. They’re not very human….”
When Aryumun tossed that joke in a soft tone, the mages squirmed, unsure how they were supposed to react.
Amused by those foolish responses, Aryumun let out a small laugh and shook his head.
“Did you confirm the location?”
“We lost the trail, but there was only one place he could reach through the Seoribal Plateau from there.”
“Then…”
“Yes. Namuhwaran’s Orchard, the Third World Tree.”
“Hoo….”
Of all places, why did that runaway locomotive of a man have to head to the quiet city of the elves?
“I really hope he behaves himself there…. For now, dispatch the Dark Mage Extermination Unit quietly and discreetly.”
“Understood.”
If they dispatched the elite force with the greatest ability to respond to dark mages, the Dark Mage Extermination Unit, they might be able to reduce the damage to some extent…
but the best case, of course, would be for nothing at all to happen and for Cheollibeon to move on to another region.
‘Looks like another headache is about to start.’
Muttering inwardly that he had no idea why so many exhausting things kept happening in his old age, Aryumun let out deep sigh after deep sigh.
“Tell them I’ll go myself.”
“C-Chairman, you’ll go in person…?”
“Yeah. No need for a long explanation.”
With that, he rose from his seat.
He was too old now, too sick, too worn out, and might not be much help…
but work was work.
