Chapter 320
Chapter 320
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 321
Chapter Title: Aporia's Key
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Somewhere in the forests of England, a small villa lay hidden.
Bert had come to the villa to meet one of Jaun's longtime colleagues.
As he stepped inside, he saw all sorts of mysterious magic items displayed on the walls.
These were man-made artifacts of 'mystery,' not ones formed naturally.
"Bert?"
An aged voice came from within the room. Bert smiled.
"It's always impressive, no matter how many times I see it. Jeremy."
At those words, a middle-aged man with a gray beard emerged from the room.
Jeremy.
One of the top five enchanters in the world, he had maintained a close relationship with Jaun for a long time, crafting the magic tools they needed.
"How's work? Going well?"
"So-so."
Jeremy replied as he brewed some coffee. Then he turned his gaze to Bert.
"That person's fourth journal?"
"We're gathering clues, but it seems like it'll take more time. You know what I mean..."
Bert trailed off.
"It doesn't seem like that person hid it in an ordinary place. And to enter that location, it looks like some specific material is needed, but that's a bit strange."
"What's strange about it?"
"It seems like a specific person is required."
"...A specific person?"
Barriers and security spells often recognized and disarmed for specific individuals.
It was common enough that Jeremy brushed past it without much thought.
"Hmm. Then isn't Lee Seo-jun the key?"
When it came to someone connected to that person, Lee Seo-jun was the first who came to mind.
But Bert shook his head.
"It's not Lee Seo-jun."
"How do you know?"
"You can tell from the clues we've gathered so far. It's a different type of person from Lee Seo-jun."
"...Hmm. Is that so?"
If not Lee Seo-jun, then who? No one else came to mind as someone that person would need.
At that moment, Bert asked.
"But the barrier key is still not ready? The blueprints were handed over to the Association, so time is of the essence."
"It's almost done. About two weeks."
Two weeks.
Bert nodded.
The time for the next terrorist attack was drawing near.
This one would probably be more dangerous than any terror attack they'd done before.
As always, mistakes would not be tolerated.
Deep in a dream.
—Kim Sun-woo.
An unfamiliar man's voice called out.
He didn't know whose voice it was, but it was calling to Kim Sun-woo.
—You just need to play your role well. There are plenty of bad guys hiding in the world. Demons, Jaun...
...and disaster-class magic beasts?
What did that mean? A role?
—Just take down the villains one by one, get stronger, and protect the people precious to you.
The meaningful words continued.
Then another voice spoke.
—...You, could you be Kim Jin-woo?
Snap.
Han Se-yeon awoke from her long sleep.
Opening her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. She sat up and slowly looked around.
Sunlight filtering through the curtained window, pure white walls. And medical magic tools attached to her body.
It resembled a hospital room.
She blinked blankly for a moment, then felt a throbbing pain.
"...Ugh."
Fragmented memories surfaced in her mind.
The floating island, the dimensional rift, the ruins, and...
"...Kim Sun-woo."
The headache quickly subsided.
But an unknown voice kept echoing in her head. It was the voice from her dream.
Whose voice had it been?
Just then, with a creak, the hospital room door opened.
A man with a familiar face entered and paused upon seeing her.
He soon smiled and said.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"...Jin-woo?"
The man was Kim Jin-woo. He approached her and sat in the chair by her bedside.
"You've been asleep for two days."
Han Se-yeon was startled by his words.
Two whole days asleep?
"...Then this is..."
"Hanseong Medical Center."
"Oh."
Han Se-yeon nodded.
Kim Jin-woo gazed steadily into her eyes before speaking.
"I heard from the doctor—there's nothing wrong with your body. It was mana overload from exposure to mana waves."
Han Se-yeon met his gaze without responding.
Kim Jin-woo continued in a gentle voice.
It was an explanation about mana overload. To her, his demeanor overlapped with Kim Sun-woo's.
"Mana overload can be painful and tough at first, but once you go through it, there are benefits."
Kim Jin-woo raised his palm.
A blue glow of energy slowly rose above his hand.
"You'll be able to sense the mana flowing through your body. Using mana for magic is another matter altogether, but still, with your mana stabilized, you'll be much healthier than before."
Despite Kim Jin-woo's long explanation, Han Se-yeon didn't respond.
She just had something she wanted to ask him. But for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
She swallowed dryly, stared straight into Kim Jin-woo's eyes, and called his name.
"Kim Sun-woo."
At her words, Kim Jin-woo paused and looked at her silently.
His expression was unreadable. Han Se-yeon studied his face.
Fidgeting with her fingers hidden under the blanket, she continued.
"...What happened to student Kim Sun-woo?"
"I hear he's safe without a single injury."
"...I see. That's a relief."
Just then, with another creak, the door opened and three people entered.
Han Se-jin, Elin, and Kim Deok-hyun.
The three of them looked surprised upon seeing Kim Jin-woo.
"...Kim Jin-woo?"
At Kim Deok-hyun's call, Kim Jin-woo stood from his seat. He then gave a light bow to everyone.
The others returned light bows to Kim Jin-woo as well.
For a brief moment, a strange atmosphere hung in the air.
Then Han Se-jin approached Han Se-yeon.
"You're awake."
"Yeah."
"Good. No pain anywhere?"
A perfunctory question.
Han Se-yeon gave a perfunctory answer in return.
"I'm fine. Thanks for worrying. What happened to the event?"
"It was canceled."
"...I see. That's too bad."
As the siblings' conversation continued, Kim Deok-hyun, who had been watching the situation, interjected at the right moment.
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation."
As Kim Deok-hyun cut in, Han Se-jin stepped back as if on cue.
Kim Deok-hyun pulled a photo from his pocket and showed it to Han Se-yeon.
"Did you see this man in the ruins?"
Han Se-yeon looked at the face in the photo.
A face she had seen somewhere before.
The man in the photo was Kim Chang-hyun, who had been called the top prospect at the Wizard Academy last year.
At that moment, the voice she had heard earlier resurfaced in Han Se-yeon's mind.
And she realized the identity of the questioning voice that had echoed in her head.
After a somewhat chaotic period,
A new week began.
To sum up what had happened: They lent credence to Han Se-yeon's claim of spotting Kim Chang-hyun after she regained consciousness.
Since then, rumors had started spreading that Kim Chang-hyun might be the culprit behind the recent demon assassinations.
This was no small change.
It could even make Kim Chang-hyun a target for the Ten Demons.
In any case, the last summer break of the Wizard Academy was now drawing to a close.
The sweltering summer had become noticeably cooler.
Summer was ending, but the incidents left in the world were not.
With countless dangerous events still awaiting, vigilance was always necessary.
[Is that true? Kim Chang-hyun said that?]
"Yes, really."
[...Hmm.]
And today.
I shared a somewhat embellished version of my experiences with Yoo A-yeon.
It was to help my secret ally (?) in investigating Kim Chang-hyun.
Yoo A-yeon seemed lost in thought before continuing.
[One thing's for sure—he's not friendly toward Jaun, which is a bit unexpected.]
That was my biggest question too.
Jaun's goal was Jin Cheonwoo's resurrection.
But if Kim Chang-hyun wasn't friendly toward Jaun, it meant he didn't want Jin Cheonwoo resurrected.
But that led to another question.
In this world, an 'Apostle' was akin to a sort of alter ego.
But an alter ego being hostile to its main body?
It didn't make sense.
"There might be some other goal. We'd need to investigate more to find out what."
[Another goal...]
A serious voice came from the speaker.
[Got it. Thanks for sharing.]
"No problem. I've received help too, after all."
Then Yoo A-yeon said.
[Oh, and I'm proposing again—want to join Dawn's Blade? It's way freer than the Special Task Force.]
"No, I plan to stay with the Special Task Force."
[If it's about money...]
"No. It's a choice based on my own needs."
Silence fell after my firm response.
[Well, if that's the case, nothing to be done.]
Her voice carried a hint of regret.
[Alright. I'll contact you if I get any new info.]
"Yes."
Click. The call ended.
"......Hoo."
I sighed and leaned back on the sofa.
Turning my head, I saw Gretel sleeping on the floor, and Formless eating the sausage Gretel had left beside her.
A somehow peaceful atmosphere brought a slight smile to my face.
"Guess I should pack."
I got up from the sofa and started packing.
It was time to leave the apartment and return to the dorms.
And once school started, it wouldn't be long before Jaun, who had been quiet so far, began moving again.
The incident about to erupt would probably be a terror attack on a whole different scale from before.
"......Hoo."
Remembering the event from the original story sent a chill through me, wiping the smile away.
The next incident would be the battle between Jaun and the Association.
The result: Jaun's complete victory.
Jaun would claim perfect victory without suffering any losses.
At the same time, the Association would taste a humiliation unlike any in its centuries-long history.
That event would probably be impossible to stop, even with my intervention.
Because Jaun would use every card they had to achieve their goal.
...But still.
I could reduce the damage with my involvement.
And.
In that process, I figured I could take at least one of Jaun's arms.
At the top floor of the Seoul Wizard Association headquarters.
Chairman Kim Jin-cheol was looking out the window as he listened to Kim Deok-hyun's report.
"Kim Chang-hyun seems to be wandering the world searching for some kind of ritual."
"Any connection to Jin Cheonwoo?"
"Not sure. The Seonhyeon clan's research records were already erased by Jin Cheonwoo."
Kim Jin-cheol stroked his beard.
"Things are getting complicated. When the lab was discovered, there was no notable change. Now he starts acting like this."
Kim Jin-cheol recalled the Seonhyeon clan lab he had found.
Wondering if there might be some hidden device from Jin Cheonwoo, he had investigated Kim Chang-hyun for a long time.
But nothing resembling a device had turned up.
"There are a lot of odd parts, so I've had some thoughts—could it be 'suggestion'?"
"Suggestion?"
"Yes. It's hard to detect even with inspections of various magic tools, so I think it's highly possible."
"...Suggestion, huh."
Kim Jin-cheol fell back into thought.
"It's plausible enough. Hmm."
It was then.
Knock knock.
A knock came at the door.
—This is Ritual Interpretation Squad Leader Park Sung-hyuk.
"Come in."
The door creaked open, and Park Sung-hyuk entered.
Park Sung-hyuk gave a small bow to Kim Deok-hyun.
Then he spoke.
"The analysis results for the 'Key Blueprint' obtained from Silvers are in."
"You said about a month, but it took quite a while."
At Kim Jin-cheol's words, Park Sung-hyuk bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. It was more complex than expected, and we hit some snags."
"It's fine. So, what barrier was that ritual the key to?"
Park Sung-hyuk handed a report to Kim Jin-cheol.
"It's the key to the Aporia barrier of the Special Magic Penitentiary, Aporia."