Chapter 361
Chapter 361
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 361
Chapter Title: Magic Association (7)
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"Right. That's why you're here. Now then... Huh?"
Gaold glanced back at Gando and Plu, who were standing there like forgotten baggage. After a moment of thought, he spoke in a puzzled voice.
"Why are you two here? Don't you know this is a Class-1 security zone?"
"Ah, well..."
As Gando hesitated, Kangnan let out a sigh.
*He's forgotten again.*
Shirone was a key asset who could bring a groundbreaking change to this project. Though he didn't show it, Kangnan could tell that Gaold was also quite excited.
"Go back. We have something to discuss in private."
"Yes, sir."
Gaold waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, and Gando walked awkwardly toward the elevator. Even as a high-ranking member of Gaold's personal guard, he had no choice but to obey.
Plu, however, remained where she was.
*I was right here the whole time. You're the one who brought me, Chairman.*
She knew Gaold had memory issues, but that didn't soothe her hurt feelings. After all, he still remembered Shirone, whom he had just met less than ten minutes ago, didn't he?
"Plu, what are you doing? Let's go up."
Gando spoke in a worried tone, but Plu was stubborn.
For over two years, she had dedicated herself to Gaold's personal guard, carrying out countless missions. He couldn't just treat her like this.
"Please let me stay here."
Gaold, who had been walking toward Shirone, stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head, and a quiet, unsettling something swirled in his eyes.
"What... did you just say?"
Plu, seizing the moment, shouted even louder.
"Please let us stay! We are your subordinates, here to assist you, Lord Gaold!"
Gando, his face pale, shook Plu's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Plu? Are you crazy?"
Not that Plu was standing there calmly. Her heartbeat hammered against her ribs, and her terrified eyes avoided Gaold's gaze, darting toward the ceiling.
"Kekeke, kekekekeke."
Bending his knees, Gaold hunched his neck like a beast eyeing its prey. A heat haze, as if the very air was scorching, rose from his shoulders and the crown of his head.
"Plu."
"Y-Yes!"
"Since becoming the Chairman of the Magic Association, I've never once been involved in an assault case. Do you know why?"
Plu slowly lowered her gaze to meet Gaold's. The sight of his face, stretched into a grotesque grin, sent a heart-stopping terror through her.
"Because one punch, and they all die."
Gando flinched and stepped back.
*Damn it! It's starting.*
Plu's vision went dark, replaced by a hellscape of burning sulfur. The horrifying screams of tormented souls clawed at her brain, making her want to tear her own ears off.
"Uh, uhh..."
Plu's pupils rolled back into her head on their own. Her knees buckled and shook like a dog being beaten with a club, and hot tears, like blood, streamed down her face.
*S-So scary...!*
She felt like she would do anything to escape this moment. But that would be a betrayal of Gaold. Her entire world would crumble in an instant.
"Hic! Hngh!"
Squeezing her eyes shut, Plu shouted with all her might.
"I respect you!"
At the same time, the hellscape vanished.
But her soul, which had fled far away, showed no signs of returning. Words tumbled out of her mouth in a trance-like state.
"I respect you! I've respected you ever since I started learning magic! I'll do anything for you, Chairman. So please, let me stay here!"
*Plu...*
Gando looked at his direct subordinate with pity.
Gaold was a man who had gone too far to be a life goal. Even Gando, a certified Grade 4 mage, found it difficult to suppress his trembling when standing before him.
But this time, for the sake of his precious subordinate, he mustered his courage and took a step forward.
"I ask as well! Please do not doubt our resolve!"
Stopping beside Plu, Gando bowed his head.
Gaold stared blankly at the two, lost in thought. In reality, however, he wasn't thinking about anything at all.
"Fine, do as you please."
His permission came so easily it was almost anticlimactic, leaving Gando looking dumbfounded. Plu, still not comprehending the situation, just kept sniffling.
Kangnan clicked his tongue in annoyance.
*Honestly... This is why people call him crazy.*
Gaold wasn't bound by anything. He acted purely on the emotion of the moment.
It was a natural consequence of his brain's memory function being shot, but the reason he hadn't been stabbed and was still alive was that no one in the Tormia Kingdom could harm him.
Walking to the center of the bunker, Gaold faced Shirone from a distance, took out a cigar, and lit it. Smoke drifted like a ghost from between his parted lips.
"Alright, the fact that Kangnan brought you here must mean he saw some potential. From now on, I'll be the judge. If you meet my standards, we might just have a good relationship."
Being evaluated so abruptly wasn't pleasant, but considering he was the Chairman of the Association, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
What was unsettling, however, was what he had just done to Plu. What could have happened to make the ever-confident woman break down in terrified sobs?
*Is this really okay? He seems a bit strange.*
When no answer came, Gaold spoke, sounding bored.
"I'm not forcing you. We have no use for the weak-willed. If you don't like it, you can leave right now."
"If it's an evaluation, what are you evaluating?"
"There's only one thing I expect from you. Show me your Ataraxia."
It was just as Shirone had expected. If a certified Grade 1 Archmage was seeking out a mere student like him, it could only be because he was interested in Ataraxia.
"Use your maximum output. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you."
*Maximum output?*
At first, he didn't understand what that meant. But then, feeling the fighting spirit rising from Gaold's body, an unsettling thought crossed his mind.
"You don't mean... you want me to fire it at you?"
"That's right. Whatever it is, show me your best move."
Shirone's face twisted in disbelief.
In his opinion, Ataraxia was siege magic. It wasn't something you cast on a person unless you really intended to kill them.
"But this isn't Icheonbundo."
"Of course not. That's why I brought you here. The true value of magic is best confirmed with your own body."
Now he understood for sure. Gaold was insane. How could he make such a demand unless he wanted to turn someone into a murderer?
"It's too dangerous. You could get hurt, Chairman."
Gaold narrowed his eyes, blew out a puff of smoke, and then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Puhahaha! That's the funniest joke I've heard in ages. And from a little brat who's barely weaned."
Shirone's face flushed red with anger. Regardless of whether it was a joke, the words were utterly condescending.
Sure, Gaold was the strongest mage in Tormia. But Ataraxia was the power of an archangel.
"I'm serious. You could actually die."
Gaold waved his hand, as if brushing away the last remnants of his laughter.
"Ah, right, right. Then from that moment on, you're the Chairman of the Magic Association. Everyone here can be a witness. How about that? Talk about a fast track to promotion, eh?"
*He's not listening at all.*
Shirone widened his eyes and focused his mind. Once Gaold saw what Ataraxia was, he would change his tune.
A single point of starlight, born from the empty air, traced a curve, drawing a circle.
The moment the Halo was born, Plu's brow furrowed. A sharp pain shot through her temples.
*So this is the Halo, the materialization of the Immortal Function.*
She had heard that the more sensitive one was, the more intense the shock. As expected, Gando seemed to be in considerable pain, grimacing with one eye and exhaling sharply.
Kangnan, on the other hand, checked the time with a calm expression. Gaold, looking bored, sucked on his cigar until his cheeks hollowed, then puckered his lips and blew a smoke ring, as if to ask, 'Can't you do it any faster?'
*This guy... he's the real deal.*
It was the first time he had met someone completely unaffected by the Halo.
Calming his excitement, Shirone decided to push things a little further.
As he integrated Ataraxia, flashes of multicolored light assaulted him from the front, beginning to construct a concept that transcended the foundations of human knowledge.
"Whoa..."
Plu's jaw dropped.
She had only heard rumors about Ataraxia. She knew it was the power of an archangel, but she'd wondered how amazing a spell cast by a mere student could be. Yet, even she, the top graduate of the Royal Magic Academy, couldn't comprehend even ten percent of the concepts being integrated into the Halo.
*How is that possible? Just how many axioms is he using?*
Ataraxia was complete. As hundreds of small magic circles spun like gears, emitting a brilliant light, Gaold, having seen enough, turned to Kangnan.
"Well?"
Kangnan glanced at the pocket watch in his hand.
"One minute and two seconds."
"Hmm, a bit faster than before."
Flick! Gaold flicked his cigar, sending the butt flying toward the wall as sparks erupted like fireworks. He pulled one leg back, faced Shirone at an angle, and slowly lowered his stance.
"Shall we begin then? Come at me."
The moment Gaold took his stance, the very nature of the bunker changed. If a mage was omnipotent in their Spirit Zone, then here, everything was under Gaold's control.
Despite this, Shirone hesitated. Ataraxia was a trigger-type spell. Once he sent the Photon Cannon through it, he would have no control over what happened next.
Kangnan's voice reached his ears.
"Shirone, I believe I told you. This is a matter of supranational importance."
Shirone was still looking at Gaold.
"I can't give you the details yet, but we are serious. If this goes against your beliefs, you're free to leave now. But if you're just bound by a moral code, you should know that's presumptuous of you as well."
"Hoo!"
Shirone exhaled sharply, as if expelling all distracting thoughts. There was no way out now. He had no choice but to bet on the title of Grade 1 Archmage.
"I'm beginning."
Shirone's eyes flew open, and a photon materialized in front of him with a pop. As the mass concentrated, the voices in his mind grew louder, but he resolutely ignored them all and increased the power.
*From this point on, even I can't control it.*
Gritting his teeth, Shirone unleashed the Photon Cannon.
The moment the sphere of light passed through Ataraxia, the bunker was flooded with white.
Along with it, Plu's mind went blank. A tidal wave of immense mass. She felt as if she'd been cast before a phenomenon from a transcendent world untouched by human feet.
BOOM!
A sharp, air-rending crack sliced through the roar of the flash.
The atmospheric pressure in the bunker exploded, compressing the Photon Cannon's energy in front of Gaold's palm. It was Vacuum Press, the ultimate defensive spell of the Air element, a spell only Gaold could cast.
"H-How...?"
Shirone couldn't believe his eyes.
He hadn't endured it or dodged it. He had literally caught the Photon Cannon with his bare hand.
The Photon Cannon, already drained of its energy, floated above Gaold's palm. When he clenched his fist, it vanished with a small pop.
Gaold looked back at Shirone, a smirk playing on his lips.
"You fail."
Silence fell. No one in the bunker could utter a word.
*Fail? Me?*
Shirone belatedly realized that the thought of not passing had never even crossed his mind. He had only been worried about someone getting hurt by Ataraxia.
Gaold draped his coat, which had been blown off by the pressure wave, over his shoulder and walked toward the elevator, looking disappointed.
"Kangnan, you were right. This kid's useless. Send him back."