Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Devil's Wager
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Upon arriving at the park on the outskirts of Granada where he was supposed to meet Lee Si-woo, Allen looked around with a sour expression.
Perhaps because of all the recent fuss about the virus, the park was rather deserted, save for a few goblins and beastmen out for a jog.
Confirming that Lee Si-woo had not yet arrived, Allen clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, that bastard Lee Si-woo. He calls me to a remote place like this and then has the nerve to be late? Just who does he think I am…”
His voice trailed off as he turned his head like a herbivore sensing danger.
And there stood a person who should not have been in this area, at this place, at this time.
Yes, the master of the Wilderness Magic Tower.
Hirkhus.
“Have you been well? This is the first time we’ve seen each other since that one time years ago.”
“Hirkhus. How did you… no. Why am I asking such a foolish question? Right, Lee Si-woo betrayed me.”
“Correct.”
Gritting his teeth, Allen scanned his surroundings.
Dozens of 4th-Circle mages had appeared out of nowhere and now had him surrounded.
It was as if all the elite mages, the very core and essence of the Wilderness Magic Tower, had gathered in this one place.
‘Damn it, so this is why that bastard Lee Si-woo called me to such a secluded spot… Did he choose a place beyond my tower's sphere of influence? Ha… I was careless.’
Sensing the disparity in their forces, Allen watched his own escort mages break out in a cold sweat even as they prepared for battle. He then opened his mouth.
“…Are you really planning to start a war?”
“If your death leads to war, then I am more than willing.”
“You’re insane. Absolutely insane. You’ve lost your mind!”
Hirkhus slowly approached Allen and spoke.
“Originally, I was just going to ambush and kill you. It’s easier that way. But I had a change of heart. I found myself wanting to have a little… conversation with you.”
“Let me tell you this in advance, if you’re asking about your grandson’s case, I have nothing to do with it. Am I crazy? Why would I do something with more to lose than to gain?”
“I’m afraid Lee Si-woo has already testified that it was your doing.”
Realizing that this whole mess was because of Lee Si-woo, veins bulged on Allen’s forehead.
“That bastard… I’ll kill him! Look, Hirkhus, what reason would I have to do something like that? Think about it! No. This isn’t the way…”
For a mage, there was a sure way to prove one's innocence.
The Mana Pact.
This pact, which would cause one to lose their mana forever if broken, was the clearest means of discerning a mage’s true intentions.
However, despite knowing its usefulness, mages rarely used such a pact.
Words could be twisted and interpreted in different ways, and a poorly worded pact could often lead to a mage losing their mana in vain or being exploited by their opponent until their death.
Just as Allen was debating whether or not to propose the pact, his phone rang.
*Tiriring.*
At the unexpected sound, Hirkhus spoke with a faint smile.
“You have no manners, do you?”
Annoyed by Hirkhus's taunt, Allen was about to turn off his smartphone when he saw the name ‘Lee Si-woo’ on the screen, and his eyes went wide with fury.
Allen quickly answered the phone and spat out a curse that rose from the depths of his lungs.
“You son of a bitch!”
—*Check your texts. If you don't want to regret it.*
*Click.*
As Lee Si-woo hung up after his brief message, Allen felt his blood begin to boil.
However, the fiery emotion was doused as if with ice water the moment he saw the text message that followed on his screen.
Attached to the message was a photo of Lee Si-woo with his arm affectionately around Lina’s shoulders.
Seeing Lina with a significant amount of her hair torn out from the back of her head, blood streaming down, Allen’s eyes twitched uncontrollably.
*Ting.*
—*I trust you’re not thinking of something foolish, like a pact. Elder Allen.*
The man was a cunning fox.
*Ting.*
—*Of course, I also trust that a brilliant Elder such as yourself would not carelessly utter any words that might cast suspicion on me to Hirkhus.*
A detestable bastard.
*Ting.*
—*Hmm, just in case, if the Elder’s lips are looser than I anticipate… Ah, come to think of it, your sister has an interesting hobby, doesn’t she? Hmm, as is often the case with art, when one gets tired of looking, one might want to try it out, no? In that sense, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to experience it firsthand this time.*
A cruel wolf cub.
Allen stared at the screen with bloodshot eyes.
She was his only flesh and blood in this world.
After their parents passed away, they were siblings who had nowhere to go, relying only on each other to survive.
When she was a baby, he had personally gone around begging for milk for her.
Watching her grow up, his heart had swelled with a pride he couldn't describe.
And when she was struck with a rare disease, he had sworn through tear-filled nights.
That he would become a mage, no matter what, and fix his sister’s legs.
She was another heart for him, the driving force that pushed him to strive to be called a genius.
That was Lina.
But the difference between then and now was that the current Allen was no longer the dreamy boy of the past, but a full-grown adult with a mind of his own.
Allen made a cold assessment of the situation.
‘Lee Si-woo… I swear it. You will die by my hand. You will. And Lina. I’m sorry… for not being able to protect you. Even if I follow Lee Si-woo’s words here, there’s no guarantee both of us will survive, is there? So instead… making a pact with Hirkhus and turning the tables on Lee Si-woo seems to be the best option.’
Allen squeezed his eyes shut.
‘But I promise you this. I will stake my everything to see this revenge through.’
Just as Allen, who had concluded that being swayed by Lee Si-woo would mean losing everything, was about to give up on Lina with a heart-wrenching feeling, another message arrived.
*Ting.*
—*Of course, I’m not asking for such an action without offering anything in return. They say even a cornered mouse will bite a snake, so I’m terrified of what might happen if a snake like you were cornered. Therefore, if you accept my proposal, I will get you out of there.*
‘What…?’
—*However, give up any thought of saving your escort mages. I don’t want those who know I’m a traitor to live. Ah, you will naturally find my words hard to believe. So, the box under the red bench to your right from where you’re standing. Check inside it. Then you’ll be able to believe that what I’m saying is true.*
After reading the message, Allen checked the location and, just as Lee Si-woo had said, there was a small, shabby-looking wooden box.
As Allen approached the red bench, Hirkhus snapped in a voice as cold as frost.
“You’re testing my patience. Or perhaps you think I’m a joke.”
Only then did Allen realize he had forgotten about the most dangerous person present. He spoke in an urgent tone.
“Wait! Just a moment, and I will make a Mana Pact and tell you everything you want to know.”
At the two words ‘Mana Pact’ that Allen uttered, a glint appeared in Hirkhus’s eyes. He nodded and crossed his arms.
A gesture that said he would wait, as if he had heard the answer he wanted.
It seemed his purpose for wanting to talk with Allen was also the pact.
‘Hirkhus, like the old fox he is, must have felt uneasy about something. After all, he’s lived with schemes and intrigue for far too long to be so easily played by Lee Si-woo.’
Allen took out the box from under the bench and opened it.
Inside was a password-protected ‘Return Stone.’
‘This is… a Return Stone? How does someone like Lee Si-woo have something this expensive, something even I don’t possess?’
This artifact, which could return its user to a designated location from anywhere within a 1,000 km radius, was too expensive for an individual to own and was typically used as a public artifact by corporations or magic towers.
And yet, Lee Si-woo had such a precious item?
The more he learned, the more incomprehensible a being Lee Si-woo was.
‘And it’s password-protected? Hehehe, Lee Si-woo, you meticulous bastard… Now I see what you’re plotting.’
*Ting.*
—*Tell Hirkhus, ‘I killed your grandson,’ and I will give you the password. For your information, the location saved on the Return Stone is where Lina and I are. I am now giving you a chance to escape from that place and, at the same time, an opportunity to kill me. Please do not forget this fact, and I hope you act wisely.*
Could it be true?
He couldn’t be sure.
Yes, perhaps he was being played by Lee Si-woo.
Maybe the plan was to use this expensive Return Stone just to kill him on the spot.
But if Lee Si-woo’s words were true, it was a chance to save his sister and get his revenge.
At this point, he had no choice but to admit it.
If he was a snake, then that man was a seasoned serpent.
He had shown the cornered snake an escape route and, at the same time, shone a light into that cave.
So how could the snake turn away from the cave where the light lingered?
Expectation and hope were not things one could simply ignore.
“Hirkhus. My apologies. To be honest… your grandson. I killed him.”
A short confession.
But it didn’t need to be long.
This was enough to confirm the truth.
“……”
The light in Hirkhus’s eyes, who had been silent all along, slowly intensified.
Just as he finally uncrossed his arms and began to exude killing intent, the small sound that would be Allen’s salvation came.
*Ting.*
—*Password. I am an idiot.*
For a moment, Allen gritted his teeth to swallow the curse that rose to his throat. He entered the password into the Return Stone, and with a flash of light, he vanished.
Meanwhile, on a nearby mountain where the park could be seen clearly through a telescope, Roben, who had been reporting the situation to Lee Si-woo in real-time over the phone, sighed and hung up.
“Hoo… I never imagined he’d entrust a job like this to me… Ugh, if I do three favors for this guy, I won’t have a life left to live.”
Roben pressed a switch on the remote control in his hand. Immediately, explosions erupted with loud bangs from various parts of the park.
It was a backup plan from Lee Si-woo—a bomb attack to throw the situation into chaos in case Allen didn't accept his proposal.
Most people, when faced with an unexpected situation, were more likely to make extreme decisions.
Yes, just like now.
“It’s a trap! Kill all the escort mages!”
“They’re running away! After them! Don’t let a single one escape alive!”
Having inhaled the acrid smoke from the sudden bomb attack, the 4th-Circle mages, with bloodshot eyes, began to slaughter the remaining escort mages.
Roben watched the chaotic scene in the park with great interest, but when the Wilderness Magic Tower Master, Hirkhus, let out a roar and unleashed his fury, he flinched and beat a hasty retreat.
He was worried he’d get caught in the crossfire.
* * *
The place Allen arrived at via the Return Stone was the same abandoned factory where Lee Si-woo had previously killed dozens of human criminals.
In the center of the space, filled with the smell of rusted metal and broken manufacturing machinery, sat Lee Si-woo and Lina on a worn-out sofa.
Confirming that Lee Si-woo had indeed kept his promise, Allen strode forward with wide eyes.
But the closer he got to Lee Si-woo and Lina, the stranger his expression became.
He had seen the bomb collar fastened around the neck of the gagged Lina.
With a gentle smile, Lee Si-woo gestured with his palm toward the chair in front of him.
“Have a seat.”
As he walked to the chair, countless scenarios raced through Allen’s mind.
Could he kill Lee Si-woo right here, right now?
Would Lina survive while he was killing Lee Si-woo?
Had Lee Si-woo set more traps?
But in the end, after all the complex thoughts tangled together, the conclusion he reached was a question.
“Why do you want a war?”
Instead of answering the question, Lee Si-woo offered an unrelated remark.
“Elder Allen. This abandoned factory is rigged with hundreds of 5th-Circle magic devices. And they are designed to go ‘boom’ if you try anything funny.”
It was a bluff, but it didn’t matter.
Lee Si-woo wouldn’t allow Allen to verify it.
Allen, on the other hand, would have no choice but to believe it.
Considering the sequence of events so far, he would have thought Lee Si-woo was more than capable of such a thing.
Allen gritted his teeth and asked.
“…What do you want?”
“Let’s make a bet. And the winner gets everything. Yes. Be it the opponent’s life, or one’s own life… anything.”
“A bet? What kind of bet?”
Showing interest, Lee Si-woo’s eyes curved into a crescent shape.
“Have you ever heard of a Mental Connection?”