Chapter 74
Chapter 74
Episode 74
The man, perplexed by Eleanor's silence, sat up.
"Hmm?"
"...."
Baekyang stepped forward, as if to block the space between the man and Eleanor.
The man hesitated at her noticeably wary gaze.
"This is troublesome."
Even as the man raised both hands in a gesture of peace, Baekyang didn't relax her guard.
This opponent was particularly dangerous, even among the monsters she had seen so far.
The forcibly suppressed flow of mana. Even the tiny amount leaking out was chillingly dense.
"I didn't think there would be students with such good senses."
Baekyang thought she knew who he was. Aside from Tia, there was only one other being who possessed this level of mana.
"You are..."
Baekyang voiced the name of the man who was stroking his chin in thought.
"Salem Sudra, the Mage King?"
"Ah, Baekyang, your speech changed."
"....?"
Despite the serious situation, a cheerful voice interrupted. Both Baekyang and Salem turned their heads to look at Eleanor.
Strange child. That was Salem's impression of Eleanor.
But for Baekyang, it was different.
Unease. And that unease became reality.
"Ah, Baekyang, is he really the Mage King?"
"That's..."
Clang!
Before Salem could finish, Eleanor's sword flew towards him. Salem blocked it effortlessly, but inwardly, he was flustered.
Why? What train of thought led to that attack?
"Wow! Baekyang, look! He blocked it. He really is the Mage King!"
"......."
No one could laugh at Eleanor's bright voice.
Baekyang was bewildered by Eleanor's sudden outburst, while Salem was confused by the cunning fox that didn't loosen its grip on the sword even while speaking such words.
"If you're the Mage King, you must be my master's enemy, right? The one who expelled him."
"...That Oz fellow. Is he brainwashing his friends instead of making them?"
Salem clicked his tongue at Eleanor's actions, devoid of even a moment's hesitation.
It was too radical to be considered an act for a friend. As if she wasn't thinking of the consequences.
'It's best to retreat from here.'
Salem had originally intended to go straight to Tia, but he had stopped by out of curiosity.
It would be troublesome if Tia found out he'd taken a detour.
Even Salem, called the King of Mages, didn't want to provoke Tia, an existence outside the norm.
"I'd prefer not to meet again next time..."
"Huh?!"
With those words, Salem vanished before Eleanor's eyes.
[Teleport], a high-level magic. It would normally take considerable time, but for Salem, it was as natural as breathing.
"Baekyang! I chased away the Mage King!"
"......."
Baekyang regretted it. She knew.
Yes, she definitely knew.
She had known for a long time that Eleanor became reckless when it came to Oz.
But she couldn't have imagined Eleanor would thoughtlessly attack a king. She hadn't even considered that there would be an option to stop Eleanor in that situation.
"What are you going to do later?!"
“I don't know!”
Eleanor was thoughtless. Moreover, somewhere in her mind, something was broken.
Baekyang realized this fact once again.
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[Erosion Rate 40%]
After winning the finals and exiting through the arena entrance, I saw a familiar face.
"...."
"My..."
The man suddenly appeared before me using [Teleport].
Although it was my first time seeing him in person, the moment I saw the mage's eyes, which resembled Oz's, I knew.
"What is this..."
"This is troublesome."
Honestly, I was a little surprised.
No, it was hard to even pretend to be calm. It wasn't simply because I met the person who ordered my death.
[KP Spokesperson of the Other Side]
Salem Sudra
The information I had never even considered before sent chills down my spine.
[Spokesperson of the Other Side]
That was clearly the title referring to the head of the criminal organization Parade. But Salem?
Was that even possible?
Considering the flow of the story I knew, it was impossible.
Even if Salem was my enemy, he was positioned as a helper to Eleanor.
Moreover, Tia had already said she met the [Spokesperson of the Other Side].
But that was Salem?
Tia couldn't have noticed that fact?
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed impossible.
"First..."
What should I say?
I definitely had a lot of questions I wanted to ask Salem when I met him, but I couldn't remember them due to the shocking truth.
"...."
Salem was expressionless.
As if he had no feelings towards me, he was looking down at me, speechless, with an extremely businesslike attitude.
Perhaps because my mind was shaken by the shocking truth, I couldn't even read him with [Contemplation].
Amidst such confusion,
The first words I uttered were,
"Why did you try to kill me?"
My voice was filled with resentment, surprising even myself.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...."
Salem remained silent.
He wasn't at a loss for words.
He was simply organizing his thoughts in order to give Oz a precise answer.
The organized answer was simple.
"That's a bit different. I didn't try to kill you, I just discarded you."
Oz couldn't even let out a sigh at that answer.
Whether his head was burning up or his heart had grown infinitely cold,
Oz simply stared at Salem with a frigid expression.
"If I had tried to kill you, I could have."
If Salem had set his mind to it, he could have killed Oz at any time.
But he hadn't personally stepped in to kill Oz. He had only driven him out.
"That's why I didn't try to kill you, I discarded you."
"...."
"Does that answer your question?"
Oz felt his vision turn red at Salem's answer.
It was hard to contain his anger at the utterly emotionless expression and answer.
Why was he so angry? No, why was Oz feeling so devastated?
Why had Salem made such a choice?
He understood.
"Then..."
But understanding and accepting were different.
"Why are you still keeping my qualifications?"
"I'm leaving them until I find someone to replace you."
Oz continued to ask questions.
He couldn't miss this opportunity.
At least, yes, he wanted something he could accept, even just one thing.
"Then, if you haven't found someone to replace me yet... why did you have to discard me in the first place?"
"Because you didn't meet my standards."
Bang!
Oz, who was about to rush at Salem, crashed into the wall. [Telekinesis], a basic magic, a type of mana manipulation.
He had fallen for such a simple trick.
Salem grimaced at Oz's appearance and said,
"Yes, shall I be honest? You have talent, but you're wasting it."
Salem pressed his staff against Oz's solar plexus, which was pressed against the wall, and said,
"You're not calm, and you're not rational. You lack the most important qualities of a mage."
Oz roughly grabbed Salem's staff that was pressing down on him, but he couldn't push it away.
"You avert your eyes from what truly matters and cling to the impossible. If I had known it would come to this, I shouldn't have turned a blind eye when you stole my magic!"
"Ugh..."
Oz and Salem's eyes met.
Their cold, sky-blue eyes glared at each other, as if they couldn't tolerate one another.
"I thought pushing you, taking away what you had, might make you better... What is this mess?"
Salem looked down at Oz with disappointment.
"What was that fight just now? Why have you become weaker?"
To Salem, the way Oz had fought earlier was extremely simple.
Just overpowering with strength. The most poisonous method for a mage.
"What is important?"
"......."
"And what is impossible?"
On the other hand, Oz was becoming calmer in the face of Salem's emotional words.
He began to push away the staff pressing down on him, using only his physical strength.
"Is this inefficient?"
Oz and Salem's cold, sky-blue eyes began to glare at each other as if to kill.
"Unable to acknowledge anything else, unable to be free. Who is truly unqualified as a mage right now?"
"......."
"What's most important differs from person to person, even before considering whether they're a mage."
"But we are mages. If we don't live as mages, we will soon die."
Salem and Oz were different.
Their thoughts were so different that they couldn't understand each other.
Oz's hand gradually began to push away the staff he was gripping.
In response, Salem also channeled mana into the staff, applying even more force.
It was at that moment of stalemate.
"Both of you, stop it."
The stalemate ended with the intervention of a single being.
Tia, appearing between them, forcibly pushed them apart, ending the situation.
"Salem, if you came, you should have looked for me. What are you trying to do here?"
Tia, floating in the air, glared at Salem, whose expression remained unchanged despite the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Instead of answering, Salem wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve and withdrew his staff.
"And Oz, I specifically told you not to cause trouble, so why are you fighting here?"
Oz, too, only spat out blood-tinged saliva without answering.
Tia scratched her head as she looked at the two, similar yet opposite.
It was as she had expected.
She knew this would happen if they met, but it was her mistake to allow Salem access.
But she couldn't help it.
"Salem, go on ahead. I'll talk to this brat."
"Yes..."
Salem stepped back, leaving only a short reply.
The [Teleport] formation unfolded between that short movement, engulfing Salem's body.
Just before Salem's body disappeared, he said to Oz,
"If you want to relinquish your successor qualifications, come find me at Spellerge yourself."
"......."
Oz glared at Salem, as if trying to engrave the moment of his disappearance into his memory.
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My head was burning.
I was truly not calm. I didn't know how many times this had happened already.
Perhaps Salem was right. I... no, Oz himself might be lacking something as a mage.
"Are you alright?"
Tia spoke to me with an awkward expression, unlike usual.
Well, it was understandable.
This encounter with Salem was just a coincidence, but Tia had said she would prevent me from seeing Salem until the professor competition.
In a way, it was like breaking a promise, so it was natural for her to look like that.
"Relax your expression."
"My expression is always like this."
"No, well, yeah. If you say so."
Even I thought it was a ridiculous excuse. I couldn't be sure, but my expression probably wasn't normal, just as Tia had said.
Even [Contemplation] wasn't working properly.
In this mental state, could I possibly have a normal expression?
No, there's no way.
"Ah, right. That's right. You won the overall evaluation this time, didn't you? The special prize is normally a secret, but since you're the winner, it's okay to tell you, right? You'll like it. It's..."
"Headmaster."
I interrupted Tia, who was trying to lighten the mood.
I appreciated her consideration, but there was something I had to say.
"Huh?"
"The Mage King, Salem Sudra..."
Tia had definitely said she clashed with the [Spokesperson of the Other Side].
She was injured that day and has been looking for him ever since, grinding her teeth.
But Tia didn't realize that Salem was the [Spokesperson of the Other Side].
Whether he had that level of disguise ability, or whether Salem had killed the original [Spokesperson of the Other Side] and taken the key in that short time, I didn't know.
The important thing was that he had the key.
Just telling Tia this would be enough to check Salem.
The [Spokesperson of the Other Side] was a particularly vicious main villain, even in the story.
Nothing would be better than to get rid of him in advance.
Yes, but...
"He is..."
"....?"
"......."
I couldn't bring myself to speak.
Once again, foolishly, I had to choose the roundabout way. It wasn't my decision, but the decision of Oz that still remained within me.
From the moment I saw Salem through Oz's eyes, I knew.
I had some expectations. But I thought it couldn't be.
Because there was quite an age gap between Salem and Oz.
Moreover, Oz grew up in a monastery, and even if he had the qualifications of a successor, Spellerge was a meritocratic kingdom, so I thought it was just the way things were.
But the moment I saw him, I knew. No, I couldn't help but know.
Salem, the [Mage King], he...
"...No, it's nothing."
...was Oz's father.
This idiot couldn't bring himself to abandon his own father.