Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: 19. Pursuit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Yoo Cheonho! Teleport!”
But before we could even catch our breath, the man’s night magic flew toward Brother Cheonho. Though it struck him directly, Brother Cheonho somehow managed to teleport while shielding Minhee with his entire body. Right after teleporting, he collapsed from the impact of the magic. Brother Seonghu helped up Brother Cheonho, who was coughing harshly. Our faces paled at the sight.
Han Jaeil pressed his forehead with a complicated expression. The man teleported right beside him.
“...Sorry,” Han Jaeil muttered in a frustrated voice.
“It’s fine.”
The man said it curtly. I was a little surprised. Honestly, I’d thought he’d be furious.
“You seem to be pushing yourself too. It’s not like she has to be the one, anyway. We could take her down and retrieve her later... At this point, escape comes first. But...”
The man muttered that while glaring at the teachers and seniors overflowing with joy.
“I was going to let it slide for the sake of an S-rank mage’s name... but now, maybe I’ll go all out.”
The man’s magic expanded in an instant. It was clear he’d been holding back until now.
But honestly, we’d been doing the same. We’d held back out of worry for Minhee. Master bit down on a mana stone to recover her mana. In a flash, the two clashed again, splitting the surrounding sea. The seawater sank dark as night and churned like a storm. Even that was swallowed by the night’s spectacle, falling silent.
“I’ll sink every one of you to the bottom of the sea.”
“Sorry, but we won’t die from sinking into the sea.”
“Hmph. You’re not weak enough to go down that easily, after all.”
The man scoffed at Brother Cheonho’s confident words and gathered mana in his hand.
“So I’ll make sure to retaliate thoroughly.”
Han Jaeil laughed and wrapped mana around his hand. It was unmistakably a battle stance. Han Jaeil chuckled lowly.
“That’s why you’re so fun.”
“Shut up.”
I watched the scene with a strangely unfamiliar feeling. Who knew that psycho could say something like that? Maybe Teacher Junhwi, Teacher Min, and Master felt the same.
Then we looked at each other. Minhee had been rescued for now, and we didn’t think the others would fail to escape from the sea. We were a bit worried, but it’d be fine. Yeah, they were all strong.
“What do we do? Should we head back now?”
“Yeah. But... if Minhee’s in danger, I want to help.”
Everyone nodded at my words. And if any of the others were in danger, we wanted to help them too. We all agreed to stay put.
After that, it was total chaos. They attacked each other relentlessly. The vast city, whose size we could roughly gauge from the ceiling’s expanse, vanished without a trace in that brief clash. All that remained were rubble from collapsed buildings and the sea towering like walls.
The good news was that most people had already evacuated. Those who could teleport had done so, and non-mages or kids unable to use magic seemed to have been escorted by police or the defense force.
In the middle of the sea, Brothers Cheonho and Seonghu stood protectively around Minhee. Though the sea split and swirled chaotically around them, their space alone remained intact. Master and the man’s domains intertwined, magic firing wildly and colliding. It all turned into a storm. As the storm raged, more and more land came into view. I widened my eyes at the sight.
“The sea...”
“It’s parting...”
We swallowed hard. Dongyoung was an undersea city. A massive city beneath the East Sea. Its walls, made with special magical materials mixed in, could withstand hundreds of kilos of explosives unscathed. They were built to endure dozens of times the pressure of depths over a kilometer.
Yet an A-rank mage shattered them effortlessly. The sea had already parted. The mana’s aftermath kept the seawater from approaching that spot at all. The seafloor was exposed, and the waves formed enormous walls.
“This is no joke...”
That man’s magic was seriously no joke. Its speed was too fast to even track properly. I could only follow it because “that sensation” had kept coming repeatedly, feeling oddly off. Otherwise, I’d have been dazed, just chasing Minhee’s figure without knowing what was happening.
But the teachers’ decision had been spot on. It was a hundred times right not to stubbornly chase after her. We were safe because it was a dream, but in reality, we’d have been swept up without even realizing. Look at them now—the teachers and seniors were struggling hard.
Han Jaeil’s magic was troublesome, but this sky mage’s was truly incredible. It was incredibly advantageous against multiple opponents, and as a special attribute magic, it devoured most ordinary attributes.
For starters, Brother Je-hyeon, Teacher Min, and Brother Seonghu’s magic kept getting nullified like that. Brother Cheonho and Teacher Junhwi’s had favorable matchups but fizzled out before reaching him. The power levels were just too different. Master was clashing head-on with domains spread, but the man still had the clear upper hand. Teacher Hansu’s limit was barely dodging for his own body.
In the end, the attacks that landed even a little were from Sister Eunhee, Teacher Inha, and Minhee’s teacher. I’d thought Minhee’s teacher used smoke magic at first, but no. It was countering the man’s magic, faintly but quite effectively. And Teacher Inha... it wasn’t just matchup; she seemed to have the highest-level magic among the mages here.
Magic blasted indiscriminately, and the sea receded further and further. The massive retreating waves returned, pushed back by mana’s force to rise again. The shattered debris on the seafloor, the surging seawater, the sky beyond, the electronic guide rails—all of it was an unbelievably surreal sight.
“Ugh, this is getting intense...”
I heard someone mutter absentmindedly. I turned to see Brother Cheonho.
The air trembled and whipped wildly. It sank under sky pressure, tore apart. Mana’s aftermath whipped up gusts. That’s when the accident happened. I blankly widened my eyes.
“Huh...?”
It was right in the middle of the raging magic. A foreseeable crisis. Threatening mana flew toward Brother Cheonho. Brothers Cheonho and Seonghu, protecting Minhee, combined wind and ice mana into a shield. But the overwhelming wind mana shattered their spell effortlessly.
“This is bad...!”
Thanks to them quickly raising another shield, Minhee and they survived. But they had no leeway left for the next incoming storm.
Shrieeeek!
“Ah! That!”
“Minhee!”
In that state, if that shockwave hit, the outcome was obvious. Everyone gasped in realization.
I was no different. I urgently flew toward them. Trusting I couldn’t get hurt in the dream, I wedged myself in front of Brothers Cheonho and Seonghu and moved my mana. I pulled their recently expended mana toward me. I executed spells in sequence.
1. Materialize “illusion” onto the magic itself. Weaken it far below its original power.
2. Take their mana and realize the magic with its attributes intact. Execute it solely through mana control without passing through my body.
3. Deploy a powerful barrier spell infused with rune incantations.
4. A simple barrier won’t hold, so distort the barrier’s space itself. Bend the magic to sap its power.
...Ah, “that sensation” again. It kept coming oddly frequently, but it felt welcoming before strange. With the sense of time slowing slightly around me, the spells manifested in an instant. A barrier rose before my eyes.
The air membrane collided with the barrier. I gritted my teeth and poured in all my strength. It wasn’t a position to deflect or dodge. The space bent, sending the colliding air membrane flying in chain reactions to other directions. It sliced through the relentlessly crashing waves. A dizzying sensation washed over me.
Finally, the threatening mana vanished completely. The sea split by wind soon poured down like rain. Brothers Cheonho and Seonghu stared blankly ahead. Clutching my slightly dizzy head, I turned to Minhee.
“What was that just now...”
Only then did I realize it was time to release Minhee’s hypnosis. It was dangerous, but if Han Jaeil controlled her again, it’d be trouble. They were practically defenseless against her.
So I reached out to Minhee. Even simpler in a dream. Here, her mental world was crystal clear.
“Mmm...”
The moment my hand touched her, Minhee’s eyes snapped open. Freed from hypnosis, she sat up, looked around, and shook her head in confusion. Vitality sparkled in her previously unfocused, hazy eyes.
“Huh? What? Where the heck are we?”
“Minhee!”
“Minhee?”
Brother Cheonho hugged her with a shocked expression. Everyone else halted their magic for a moment and turned to her. Even Han Jaeil looked flustered.
“My hypnosis broke?”
“That just now...”
My friends approached me with bright smiles. Then Master clenched her fist and shouted sharply.
“Yoo Eunha!”
I flinched and shrank back. W-what? What? Master looked around as if searching for someone and kept shouting.
“You! I told you not to follow!”
At her thunderous roar, I paled and waved my hands frantically while shaking my head. N-no, I didn’t follow... This really can’t count as following...
Hansu and Hyunho flinched at Master’s icy fury too. But of course, they couldn’t see us.
Silence fell once more. Master scanned around, then looked puzzled. Eunha? Eunha? Minhee also whipped her head around, looking about. Tch, Minhee’s teacher placed a hand on Master’s shoulder.
“What’re you talking about? There’s no one here but us.”
“But the way that magic was blocked was unmistakably Eunha’s...”
“If she’d followed, we’d have noticed her presence. And how could that kid block mana like that?”
Minhee’s teacher shook his head in denial. Master looked flustered and pondered. Then a cold voice cut through them.
“So, who is it?”
I turned reflexively and startled. The grandfatherly man with a youthful face glared furiously at everyone. Han Jaeil, beside him, stepped back a few paces.
“In other words, someone’s been hiding and watching all this time. Annoying.”
“...Whoa, whoa. Lord Aion, calm down...”
Shrieeeek! Before Han Jaeil could finish, wind shot out parallel, instantly parting the sea. By the time I came to, the wave-wall split in half again, crashing down in chunks.
At the same time, the night sky’s color shifted. It seemed to dye silver from the back, then suddenly turned into the firmament. The moment the clear blue sky appeared, everything around flew away. Fierce winds and proliferating storm clouds. It was like the heavens and earth had flipped. The tidal walls twisted midair, undulating. Most of the sea was pushed out of sight, and the remaining bits orchestrated the world-flipping chaos.
Even that shattered one by one. The sea floated in the air, slamming down from above like rain, while several tornado pillars rose like columns around. An oppressive sinking of everything. I didn’t feel the pressure itself, but seeing the shattering sea surface, multiple storm pillars, and that bright blue sky still beaming, my face paled. Magic whipped every which way. The airborne undulating waves were mere sea fragments yet larger than most tsunamis.
“Come out!”
Seawater slammed down under pressure. Being in a dream, I felt nothing, but I knew it was immense. The seafloor cratered where the wave pierced—terrifying. Feeling that furious mana, I squeezed my eyes shut. That spell had surely grazed me too. No effect on me, but still scary.
“Ugh, g-gives me chills...”
“Hey, should we head back now? Minhee’s safe...”
“B-but if they can’t win here, they’ll lose her again?”
“Why isn’t Brother Cheonho leaving?”
“Can’t escape.”
I pointed at the sky unfurled behind the man as I said it.
“This is his domain, so no teleporting.”
Boom! Then an attack grazed past me, and I made another awkward face. Stepping back a few paces, another boom as a wave crashed right behind. T-they definitely can’t see me... but it keeps flying right at me like a ghost...
The others in reality seemed freaked out too.
“Argh! Is he insane?!”
“We should pull back now. Minhee’s safety first. That organization’s too big for us to touch yet.”
“Yeah, let’s do that!”
Minhee’s teacher brightened at Teacher Inha’s words. It looked like everyone was gearing to retreat. Even then, the domain kept expanding, on the verge of reaching land. It already spanned dozens of kilometers.
Everyone there started eyeing escape openings. The man seemed utterly pissed.
“Not coming out, huh?”
Good thing it was deep sea there. If it were land, the terrain would’ve changed completely, total disaster. No, looking at the rising earth mounds, cracking and sinking—it had already changed a lot. The sea’s shape too, but currents would shift big-time after this.
Could they all really escape safely in this mess? I glanced worriedly at the teachers and seniors. Sure enough, they all looked troubled.
“Eek!”
Minhee shuddered at the shooting water and pressure. Seawater vibrated, carving rock.
Watching, I fidgeted, then finally cast magic in the opposite direction from the teachers. They were nullifying most, but the man’s side was overwhelmingly dominant.
“Over there!”
The man hurled magic at where I’d put up my barrier. The flat abyss crumpled seamlessly. The sight was so unreal it chilled my spine. The faint remaining water on the bottom evaporated under pressure.
‘S-scary.’
Eyes shut tight, I kept casting. The man’s magic grew more pressurized over time. Pretty sky, but its power was fearsome.
But as the situation dragged on, the man got irritated. Ignoring Han Jaeil’s attempts to stop him beside him, the man flipped the sky. Cracks spiderwebbed with snapping sounds, shattering everything. The sky itself, and the floating seawater filled back down below. It engulfed them like a tsunami.
Not just pressure. Air stormed around the man like a gale. No, it was air pressure. Mixed in were pitch-black clouds. The man spread his hand, scattering something. I widened my eyes, staring. Time seemed to slow again. Ahh, again. Today, “that sensation” was hitting me weirdly often.
What came from the man’s hand were small fragments.
“Shatter.”
At his words, they sparkled brightly. Terrifyingly pure light mana. No, darkness mana mixed in too! In “that sensation,” I frantically focused on the mana.
“Fragments of stars.”
To sum it up, it was the light-dark attribute fusion I was ultimately aiming for! As his words fell, starlight scattered around. Panicking, I deployed a barrier. Not for me—for everyone.
The barrier shattered with a crash. But it bought them time to counter the magic.
By then, I was right beside Minhee. Whether that was lucky or not, I don’t know.
Second accident. Magic’s aftermath made Minhee and Brother Cheonho fall to the seafloor. Brother Cheonho shoved Minhee aside to dodge the next attack.
“Brother Cheonho!”
A third attack came. It flew burning the air like a meteor—a star fragment.
I planted myself squarely in front of Minhee, eyes locked on the straight, fast incoming mana. My mouth gaped.
Even blocking, I couldn’t do anything. A barrier wouldn’t hold that. Unconsciously, I reached out. A crude barrier would shatter instantly, pierce my body, burn everything around, and melt even Minhee with the heat. Everyone reached out, casting to protect Minhee. But too late. Too late.
I saw it with my eyes.
‘Can’t block with magic. Not that level.’
My mind raced unconsciously. Time slowed dramatically compared to before.
Maybe because “that sensation” came and it was the dream world. Time really slowed clearly.
No, thinking back now, maybe it’d been like that all along. The slowing time I’d felt wasn’t just “that sensation” repeating—it might’ve been the dream unconsciously granting my wishes continuously. That’s probably why I could scrutinize that guy’s magic so closely.
Anyway, time slowed, and the world split. That’s how it felt.
My world intact, but the other world’s time slowed starkly.
‘Even so, countering’s impossible. Then.’
I gripped my hand. What popped into my head unconsciously was the spell Teacher Junhwi used once before me. Back then, Teacher Junhwi had undone spells from behind, rewinding them to a pre-cast state, like rewinding time.
Dispel magic!
I’d seen the man cast this spell. I’d seen it all.
Unconsciously, I moved mana. I’d studied star magic too. Now I knew star mana.
Earlier, I’d borrowed Brother Seonghu and Brother Cheonho’s mana. I’d grown enough to seize others’ mana control.
I undid it step by step. From the final completed mana trajectory, rewinding one by one. I repeated until the spell fully unraveled and vanished. When the time gap halted and the world returned to normal, nothing was before me.
“...”
Panting, I collapsed there. Seawater rained down. Everyone fell silent.
“Dispel magic...?”
The one who muttered that was the spell’s caster, the man himself.
“You dispelled my magic...?”
My friends rushed to my panting side, shaking me. Hey, you okay? What was that? I kept panting.
No, not okay. Far from it. Chest hurt, head spun. They could tell I’d overdone it. I kept panting.
But I did it. I looked up. It hadn’t taken much mana. Meaning, if I knew a spell’s structure, watched it complete fully, and seized mana control, I could “neutralize” anyone’s magic, no matter how strong! It was truly miraculous. I covered my mouth, eyes wide.
In that instant, the churning sea froze solid. The waves rippling in the sky, settling on the bottom then surging back, raining from above—all turned to snow. Unthinkingly, I looked up at the sky. Everyone else did too, heads raised at the sudden environmental shift.
Someone descended. Right before Minhee’s—and my—eyes. That back view was familiar. The man facing her had eyes trembling finely.
Inha murmured, eyes quivering.
“...Mom?”
It was just as she said. Auntie Seona.
“Kim Seona...”
The man muttered. He instantly reached out and grabbed Han Jaeil’s nape.
“V-Vice Captain...?!”
“Get it together!”
The two vanished in a flash. Auntie Seona coldly looked up, tracking them in one breath.
The sky. Their figures sped away. True to his title of sky mage, they vanished in one step. The entire sky was surely his pathway.
Auntie Seona scratched her head.
“Those damn bastards... Why’re they down here? Is the Captain sane? Daring to touch my daughter’s friend.”
“A-Auntie?”
Minhee looked up at Auntie Seona in shock. Auntie Seona turned. Passing through me, she approached Minhee and reached out warmly.
“You okay?”
“Y-Yeah... Um, actually, I don’t even know what’s going on right now...”
Minhee beamed sheepishly while anxiously scanning around.
Then Brother Je-hyeon rushed over. He hugged Minhee tightly on the spot.
“Minhee...!”
Brother Je-hyeon buried his face in Minhee’s shoulder, embracing her so hard his arms trembled.
“O-Oppa...”
Minhee murmured in a quivering voice. White breath escaped her mouth.
Seeing Minhee sniffling, we stepped back a few paces. Dream darkness settled around us. Lake-like ripples spread below, showing Minhee clinging tearfully to her brother.
Seeing that, I felt deep relief in my heart.
“Good. Now let’s go back.”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Yeah...!”
At my bright smile, Hansu and Inha nodded, Hyunho wiped teary eyes with a sob. Hansu patted Hyunho’s back.
“Hey, why’re you crying? Minhee’s safe. It’s fine.”
“J-Just, feels so relieving... Hng...”
“Got it. Stop. Don’t cry.”
The voices faded. We returned through the dream darkness.
“But that guy retreated so anticlimactically. After all that rage.”
“Quick situational judgment. He read the mood and bailed the moment Auntie Seona appeared.”
“I see...”
We sighed deeply in relief and closed our eyes. One, two, three—counting seconds, we opened them. We’d awakened from the dream.
A completely empty room unlike before greeted us. We looked at each other, then hugged tightly.
========== Author's Note ==========
Lest there be misunderstandings from this chapter.
Dispel skill ≠ magic strength.
There are types of dispel magic, but basic dispel reverses the process of how a spell was made, untying the knots to erase it.
So, dispelling a B-rank mage’s spell ≠ that person is B-rank equivalent.
In extreme terms, even a non-mage could dispel up to B-rank with the right tools and time.
The magic Eunha blocked was from an A-rank mage, but it wasn’t full power, it was a departing spell, and above all, in the dream world, she exerts special influence. There are various reasons, but most will be revealed later. Anyway, thanks to the dream world, she even bought the missing time.
Please don’t jump to extremes like “Eunha’s A-rank after seeing one dispel!”
I plan to reinforce this part when publishing as a book.
+++
+Hey, everyone? Updating Sat-Sun-Mon. Knock knock. Sat-Sun-Mon updates!
++1st place skill? Hmm... hard to describe. Influences cosmic principles? Actually, this person’s already dead, so no detailed settings... ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Anyway, definitely super strong.
+++Seongjin’s not a bad guy. But no mercy in fights. lol
++++Actually, listing all nicknames takes sneaky time lololol but seeing who commented, feels right to do this much.