Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: The Archmage Departs
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Jin-un felt a faint tremor from the manor outside the formation.
It stemmed from the immense power surging within the formation. He had sensed similar tremors a few times before, but this one was far greater in magnitude.
Wondering what could be happening, he set down his tea and turned his head. Two figures emerged from beyond the formation.
"Done?"
It was Lee Soo-hyuk and Hailz.
With half-lidded eyes, Soo-hyuk flopped down onto the veranda where Jin-un had been sipping his tea and replied.
"Yes, it's finished."
"Why the hell are you lying down here making a scene?"
"I'm dying of exhaustion. Just gonna rest my eyes for a bit."
With that, Soo-hyuk promptly fell asleep. He must have been truly worn out.
Jin-un shot Hailz a bewildered look, as if to ask what was going on.
"No wonder he's tired. He's been pouring his mental energy into it for days."
"It worked?"
"Naturally."
Soo-hyuk's fatigue was different from before. This wasn't the physical exhaustion from overusing lightning—it was pure mental strain.
Was he really just crashing there because he couldn't fight off sleep? The divine-grade item's trial had gnawed at his mental strength every single moment.
"Then he's even stronger now."
Soo-hyuk had vowed to grow stronger and avoid repeating his mistakes. Back then, Jin-un had doubted it would be that simple, but Soo-hyuk had even brought a divine-grade item with him.
He was steadily marching toward his goal.
While Soo-hyuk slept, Hailz mounted Vulcanus and flew back to the Red Tower.
There, she delivered news that would rock the world.
"I'm leaving the Red Tower."
The elders recoiled in shock at the bombshell declaration.
The Red Tower Lord had perished, and they were in the midst of selecting a successor. Hailz's name had naturally come up.
Of course, no one had high hopes. She'd long shown zero interest in the position.
But no one had imagined the grand archmage would abandon the tower entirely.
"That's not acceptable."
"Then you'll have to forfeit your archmage title too!"
Hailz shrugged nonchalantly at the elders' protests.
"Like I care about some title you hand out. Every snot-nosed kid knows who's a grand archmage."
"……."
They had no retort. She was absolutely right.
Stripping her of the title just because she left the guild would make the Red Tower a laughingstock.
As she turned to leave after dropping her bombshell, the Great Elder of the Red Tower sought her out one last time.
"A word."
Megnerus, the most revered elder mage in the Red Tower, approached.
Hailz, who had known him since childhood, couldn't bring herself to refuse his earnest request.
Megnerus prepared a tea spread and served her without any special fanfare, treating her as he always had on her final farewell.
"Is there some deeper meaning to this?"
"What do you mean, all of a sudden?"
"Five years ago, you were singing about taking down the Guardian. Lately, you've gone quiet. I thought you'd given up."
Megnerus got around in a wheelchair. Long ago, during a raid on the Guardian alongside Hailz, he'd lost both legs to his injuries.
"I wish I had given up. Life's good as it is—plenty to eat, living well."
"If things stay as they are, sure."
Hailz had a gut feeling it wouldn't last. Not mere speculation, but ironclad certainty.
"This peace won't hold forever. Hell, even now, it's not truly peaceful. Every Great War sees countless players vanish."
It was distant news for Runeterra. They always performed well in the wars.
But Hailz didn't consider that peace.
"Peace built on the backs of sacrifices isn't real peace. You know that."
"So you'll lead the charge after all?"
Megnerus sighed with a bitter smile.
His gaze drifted to his legs, long ignored.
He'd thought Hailz had abandoned the Guardian raids after that day too.
"The world's burdening you with too much, too young."
"Why assume I'll be at the front?"
"Who else? Old man Jin Do-ha? Or that mad Heavenly Demon? Neither matches your skill or character."
"For now, maybe."
Hailz smiled faintly. Megnerus's genuine concern came through loud and clear.
At least that was reassuring.
She felt a twinge of worry for the Red Tower. Rotten as it was, it was still like her hometown—she couldn't fully tune it out.
With mages like Megnerus around, though, the tower would rise again.
"Time for me to go. Got urgent business."
Hailz stood without finishing her tea. Through the window, Vulcanus's eyes gleamed.
"Where to?"
"Someone I need to meet."
"This 'someone'... new allies?"
"No."
Hailz shook her head. Her hat floated up a handspan above her head.
"Meeting a real asshole."
News of the Abyssal Sea incident spread like wildfire.
Rumors swirled of major guilds entangled with the Abyssal Sea, prompting those linked to the Red Tower to issue denials one by one.
In the midst of it all, the archmage who had crushed the Abyssal Sea announcing her departure from the Red Tower was monumental.
Tsss-
Kim Il-su lit a cigarette for the first time in ages.
He stood atop Heavenly Mountain's peak, infamous even in Murim for its harshness. He'd expected the long-abstained smoke to taste divine, but it only soured his stomach.
What the hell—why was he craving something he'd quit?
Kim Il-su had to admit it. Craving booze and now cigarettes meant he was truly rattled.
"Before that, are you sure Lee Soo-hyuk is dead?"
Neyla's words haunted him.
"From what I saw, he was the real deal."
He'd snapped at her to cut the nonsense, but deep down, it gnawed at him.
What if...?
Truth be told, from the first stream he'd watched, he'd thought it: This guy looks just like Lee Soo-hyuk.
Every time the thought deepened, Kim Il-su recalled Soo-hyuk's death. He'd confirmed the corpse himself and even cremated it, half-expecting those eyes to snap open.
Under the guise of a funeral, he'd double- and triple-checked.
Yes. No doubt. Lee Soo-hyuk had died that day.
That was the crux of it.
Everything but that memory points to one truth.
The streamer Lee Soo-hyuk is the real Lee Soo-hyuk.
All the evidence screamed it. Everyone who'd met him said the same.
Which was true?
He'd started out certain it wasn't, but now doubt clouded everything.
He needed confirmation.
"Didn't you quit smoking?"
Kim Il-su turned.
He hadn't expected much, but there he was.
Kim Il-su grinned broadly.
"Long time. You good?"
"Must be eating you up inside. Lighting up again after quitting."
Kim Si-woo had climbed to Heavenly Mountain's summit.
"Caught me off guard. You contacting me? Thought I read it wrong."
Si-woo had come at Kim Il-su's message.
At first, he'd thought it was a mistake. Come to think of it, despite kit chats being possible, they hadn't used them.
They were beyond needing contact—enemies who'd spent years plotting each other's demise.
Yet Kim Il-su had reached out to meet. More shocking, Si-woo had agreed.
"Surprised me too. Figured you wouldn't show."
"But here I am."
"Thought you'd no-show and I'd just cool my head in the fresh air."
Si-woo stepped up beside Kim Il-su. Kim Il-su's eyes widened in surprise.
He'd braced for Si-woo to draw his spear the instant they met. Even the composed Si-woo should react that way.
He'd agonized the whole way here over how to calm him for a talk.
"Weird, right?"
The sudden question twisted the half-ruined expression on Kim Il-su's face.
"Why I'm not trying to kill you."
"Too much time's passed. Anger fades."
"You think?"
Si-woo scoffed, as if it were ridiculous.
Kim Il-su eyed Si-woo's profile. Seeing his calm, anger-free demeanor, it felt unchanged from the old days.
That was why.
Kim Il-su prodded with a jab.
"Or maybe you're not confident."
"Spot on."
Instead of igniting, Si-woo grew calmer.
"Not confident solo."
He knew the gap between them.
Kim Il-su had always been second only to Soo-hyuk. Now with a divine-grade item from conquering Hydra...
Even with Ye-ryeong, it'd be tough one-on-one.
"Then why come?"
Unable to hold back his confusion, Kim Il-su asked.
Si-woo smirked and met his gaze.
"Wanted to see your uneasy face."
Si-woo explained why he'd answered the call.
"Curious how you'd look cornered. Still acting cocky? Or full of regret?"
"Me, cornered?"
"Aren't you?"
Si-woo's counter shut Kim Il-su's mouth.
He'd had a ton of questions queued up.
Is the streamer really our Lee Soo-hyuk? Why are you hanging with him?
But they evaporated.
That relaxed, anger-free poise matched the Si-woo he knew.
They were together.
With that Lee Soo-hyuk.
"How...?"
Incredible.
But he couldn't deny the undeniable.
Neyla's words paled in comparison. Si-woo wouldn't toy with him about this.
Si-woo spoke coldly to the stunned Kim Il-su.
"You can't die here. Your fall comes later—after I'm gone."
That was when it happened.
"That 'later' will be after you die."
Thud-
Si-woo sensed a presence directly behind him.
He knew who without turning.
A figure bearing the aura of a dragon ascending to the blue heavens.
"It'd be a shame if you backed out."
Si-woo turned to face Jin Do-ha.
He drew his blade of azure steel, likely there as Kim Il-su's backup.
Even with Ye-ryeong, these two would've been too much.
"I see it differently."
Regaining his composure, Kim Il-su stared down Si-woo.
"Sorry about this, old friend."
"……."
Si-woo looked up silently. Kim Il-su sensed the oddity again. After decades, he was utterly unpredictable.
Gazing at the sky, sensing his end? Not his style—he wasn't one to despair.
"Me too."
That was when the clear blue sky began to redden.
Kyaaahhh-!
A chilling cry echoed from the sky Si-woo gazed at—a harbinger of an absolute being that shouldn't be here.
"……I'm the one who's sorry."