“Do you really think it’s possible?”
Go Yu-jin was facing Cheon Jong-un, and she began to calmly explain whom she was representing and what kind of incident she was planning to cause.
At that, Cheon Jong-un remained silent with a serious expression.
“I don’t think this is a situation where you can keep your mouth shut. Someday, the Magic Tower will cause an incident, and this land, which was defended with massive amounts of blood… will be swayed by that one person’s desire and head toward chaos once again.”
“…Since when did you care so much about our thoughts?”
Go Yu-jin fell silent at the sudden question.
In reality, she had turned away from many deaths when she left the battlefield.
Go Yu-jin had no words to say, but An So-mi, who was nearby, cut in.
“Mister, you’ve become quite the coward, haven’t you?”
“An So-mi, are you trying to embarrass me after meeting for the first time in a while?”
“It’s not embarrassment, I’m speaking the truth. What are you afraid of?”
“Afraid? Huh, do I look like I’m feeling fear?”
“Do you think you don’t?”
The two met eyes, and amidst the long silence that descended, Go Yu-jin finally spoke.
“It’s true that I ran away. Because I was afraid.”
“…Of what?”
“I was afraid of death. I was so afraid of rotting in some bleak ruin or being used even after death without being able to enter eternal rest, becoming nothing more than a creature that can only let out desperate wails.”
It was the fundamental fear felt by every black mage—no, every human—who stepped onto the battlefield.
Even for an individual who had gained power corresponding to the high-level ranks, death was equal, and the circumstances after death were more horrific than one could imagine.
Because she was a black mage, Go Yu-jin spoke of her fear of the afterlife process, which she knew all too well.
“The process of seeing dozens or hundreds of comrades die so miserably before my eyes, and the result of being used by the enemy’s hands after death to reach out with the hand of death toward my own comrades… I thought all of it would eventually drive me to my own death, and I was afraid that so many people would die because of me.”
Though her power was at the 7th Circle, she couldn’t play a proper role while alive due to the limits of her usable strength, yet after death, she would have to follow the caster’s orders; Go Yu-jin was certain that there was no disaster as terrible as herself.
“A half-wit who held irresponsible power to protect everyone but couldn’t handle it properly had no choice but to leave.”
“Stop it, Yu-jin.”
An So-mi hurriedly tried to stop Go Yu-jin’s words. Telling her there was no need to speak with any more self-deprecation, An So-mi lightly hugged and patted Go Yu-jin; seeing this, Cheon Jong-un let out a sigh and looked out the window.
“Is that the kind of worry you left the battlefield with? While taking on all the disgrace of being a coward?”
“Yes, because there was someone I wanted to protect.”
“I see… Hmph, that brave child felt like she was breaking every time she experienced the war, but… have you made up your mind now?”
“I never want to taste that horrific feeling from back then again. So, please help me.”
Go Yu-jin bowed her head, making a firm request. At that, Cheon Jong-un asked seriously.
“Who else did you say is cooperating?”
Go Yu-jin gave a thin smile. She couldn’t be sure if they had truly gained cooperation yet, but she was certain that if it was Geum Seong-chan, he would surely persuade everyone.
“I’m certain that old man Han Sang-gil, you, and old man Jeong Gil-sun will help.”
“Hah, you’re going around pestering all the big shots. That fellow Geum Seong-chan must be included too, right?”
“It’s what he wants. Of course.”
Seeing Go Yu-jin with a radiant smile all over her face, Cheon Jong-un was certain.
‘That girl, it’s love.’
Perhaps the person she wanted to protect was Geum Seong-chan?
At that time, Geum Seong-chan was not a completed black mage, but an individual moving toward completion. It was a funny situation in many ways that made Cheon Jong-un itch with anticipation.
“I’m not doing it!”
“Why not?”
“I’m already taking the express train to hell with the worst image possible, so what more do I have to do?”
“That’s why you should do more. Since there’s nothing to lose, isn’t it right to go all-in on a gamble where the gain is certain?”
“You damn bastard, do you know how many mouths I’m responsible for?”
Jeong Gil-sun was the Chairperson of the Black Mage Association and was the individual in the position of managing all domestic black mages.
He was the head of a group that looked after every black mage who operated individually, whether in the Black Tower or guilds.
For such a person to turn against the Magic Tower based on a video clearly suspected of manipulation in a case with no evidence and only suspicion?
He even doubted the intentions of Geum Seong-chan, who believed this was a gamble they could win.
“Are you a Japanese spy?”
“If I were, I would have just stayed hidden. Could you please think before you speak?”
“Get out this instant! Do-bin, the guest is leaving!”
Jeong Gil-sun issued a dismissal, but it was then.
“Stop being so stubborn. How long are you going to sit in that seat singing of your own prosperity?”
“What kind of day is it today? A corpse is walking in. And it’s even speaking?”
The eyes of the two collided in the air. In that moment, they both released mana, and as their manas clashed, a woman jumped into the middle as if throwing herself between them.
“Am I going to die?”
The two old men eventually withdrew their mana due to Jeong Do-bin’s interference, and she spoke to them.
“Why are you two so afraid when it wouldn’t be strange if you passed away soon?”
“Not me. I said I’d step forward. Unlike that guy who doesn’t even have hair to lose when he dies, I have plenty of guts. Just like my thick hair.”
At that moment, mana surged again, but this time, the two old men were surprised as I overwhelmed it as if lightly pressing it down.
Among them, Han Sang-gil asked subtly.
“Are you looking toward the next step?”
“Thanks to the newly acquired Necronomicon, I can see the path.”
At the mention of “newly acquired,” Jeong Gil-sun clicked his tongue, and Han Sang-gil spoke with a worried expression.
“That might not be your own power. Make sure you don’t get caught by the bait and lose yourself.”
“Thank you for the concern, but now is a time when I must grab even this power.”
Unlike the enemies who had grown stronger in the previous battle with Wang Sun, I was quite disappointed in myself for being stagnant.
So, I was eventually communicating with the Necronomicon to seize power in any form.
“Damn it, so even that fellow Cheon Jong-un is moving?”
“Yes. If half of the big shots in the black magic world move, the Magic Tower won’t be able to ignore us, and the government will also subtly hop on our backs under the pretext that we’re stepping forward.”
“You’re using your head. But what if things don’t go as intended?”
“Then we’ll have to break through with force.”
What I looked forward to was an armed conflict rather than a smooth resolution.
From the perspective of someone who thoroughly wished for Pi Jin-hyeok’s downfall, I didn’t want him to have any other opportunity in any form other than death.
Jeong Gil-sun was deep in thought, and then Jeong Do-bin asked me.
“Don’t you need a 6th Circle Beginner?”
“Of course I do. How could I not?”
“D-Do-bin, you rascal, you can’t! You stay!”
“I don’t want to. You stay here, Grandfather. Why are you trying to step forward when you don’t even work these days because your body aches all over?”
“Geum Seong-chan, if you take my granddaughter, it’s a life-or-death struggle between us.”
“It is not by my will, though?”
“That’s right. I’m the one saying I’ll go, so why are you making such a fuss?”
Jeong Gil-sun growled and trembled, but he soon took the bait at the words Han Sang-gil subtly poked him with.
“I’ve finished looking through the Necronomicon, so it’s not of much use lately, but haven’t you shown interest in it occasionally?”
“…Are you going to hand it over?”
“It’s something the country lent to me anyway, so what does it matter if I lend it to the next person?”
“Damn it… Fine, let’s go! I’m going!”
The persuasion was achieved in an absurd manner.
A short while later, a text message was delivered to Go Yu-jin, and looking at the content, I spoke to everyone.
“Everyone is gathering after a long time. Please, at least there, do not fight…”
The two old men did not answer.
‘They say you become a child when you get old, and that’s exactly the case.’
I thought it was somewhat cute, but now was not the time for this.
Go Yu-jin had left a message saying she was heading straight to the scene with Cheon Jong-un. At that, I also requested everyone to move immediately, and after it was finally concluded that Jeong Do-bin would remain at the Association, we moved out.
“Just what on earth are you thinking?”
Facing An Sang-ik again, he asked a serious question.
It was natural, as individuals he never imagined would be in one place had all gathered to visit the Magic Tower.
“I discovered traces of black magic in some of the spells shown in the video. And it was a very high-level black magic.”
At that, Pi Jin-hyeok answered before An Sang-ik.
“It’s a fabricated video, so what couldn’t they do?”
“It looked too real to be called a fabrication. Since it’s been revealed to some personnel anyway, I’d like you to reveal it to us as well.”
Hearing those words, Pi Jin-hyeok’s expression hardened and he shook his head.
“I refuse. A black mage using dark mana heading into the deep layers of the White Tower is a completely different issue from an ordinary person causing problems by moving around.”
“If you refuse to verify, I intend to use force.”
“Hah, how arrogant. Did you bring all those great people just because you hoped I’d be scared by those words?”
“I’m thinking of doing even more; are you not afraid?”
“If I look like a coward to you, keep trying to provoke me.”
Pi Jin-hyeok began to release mana. However, An Sang-ik stepped in to dissuade him and asked.
“What on earth is that magic circle you cited as the reason for going this far?”
“Brainwashing. It was a type of magic, and a mind-control spell that has to be handled in top secret was being utilized.”
“…”
He turned his head to look at Pi Jin-hyeok.
“Don’t turn an innocent person into a criminal. If you wait a little longer, the ones who went in to examine the interior will return, so wouldn’t that be the proof?”
When he even added the story that the person who went in to look was Chu Myeong-hun, An Sang-ik fell into thought.
However, the countless reporters around them asked questions loudly as if they hoped for some kind of disaster.
“There was a report that an unusually high number of mana traces were discovered in the current Magic Tower. They say these mana traces mean an area-of-effect spell was used hundreds of times; please tell us the reason for that!!”
“There is a story that items presumed to belong to the missing person were discovered in the Magic Tower’s waste incinerator. What is the situation regarding this?”
Pi Jin-hyeok’s expression gradually hardened in the runaway atmosphere.
Furthermore, as we were about to push in with high spirits, An Sang-ik stepped in subtly and asked.
“The black mages are speaking to this extent, so I will ask one thing.”
An Sang-ik was asking while looking at Han Sang-gil, and Han Sang-gil nodded at him.
“If the black mages take full responsibility no matter what happens, I, An Sang-ik, will stake my honor and support you so that you can go to the basement of the Magic Tower.”
“Commander An Sang-ik! Are you really doing this?!”
Pi Jin-hyeok was urgent, but through that shout, Han Sang-gil spoke.
“I will endure whatever weight I can carry. I ask this of you.”
At that moment, An Sang-ik released his momentum explosively and shouted as if making a declaration.
“As of this hour, I declare this place a Grade Zero Classified Operation Zone. Evacuate civilians, including reporters, surround the designated range, and deploy a barrier so that not a single person can escape!”
As soon as the order was given, the government forces began to move quickly, and Pi Jin-hyeok retreated faster than anyone while shouting.
“Magic Tower, deploy the barrier! Proceed with the Sealing of the Tower!!”
From now on, it was a race against time.
