Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: A New Subject (2)
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"These bastards and their tricks!"
Siegfried unleashed his mana to its maximum to break free from the bindings constricting his body.
The space around him shook violently in response, but the bindings didn't budge an inch.
It wasn't a spell that suppressed mana. If it were, the space wouldn't have trembled like this.
And yet, he couldn't shatter the bindings.
What the hell is this?
He was a grand mage, but still young.
There were many spells he hadn't seen, especially sealing magic, of which he knew little.
Even so, he was a grand mage, while his opponents were merely 6th-class and 5th-class mages. Even being generous, just two 6th-class at best.
There was an insurmountable wall between 6th and 7th class. Even if they combined their magic, he could smash through it with raw power.
"You seem flustered, Dean."
Siegfried glared at Javelin with axe-like eyes.
A tremendous killing intent washed over him, but Javelin just smiled. That only irritated Siegfried more.
And then Serpent mocked him further.
"All you can do is glare like that? Kekeke! If you're a genius, shouldn't you struggle a bit more?"
"You damn old fart..."
"Heh heh. You can never break this. True, if it were just me and this guy, we couldn't have pulled off a situation like this. But..."
Serpent grinned unpleasantly.
"The world is full of ways to neutralize even a grand mage if you look for them! That's the blunder of charging in without countermeasures! Puahaha!"
Javelin and Serpent had anticipated every worst-case scenario and prepared perfect countermeasures—even for the intervention of the magic world's elders.
A powerful sealing technique that rendered even Grand Mage Siegfried completely immobile.
It would probably work on Elders 1 and 2 as well.
They had even prepared for multiple elders arriving.
Javelin chuckled in his signature way.
"Heh heh. Even the famous Siegfried couldn't have predicted this."
"That's why geniuses are a problem. You always think your talent can handle everything. What a joke! Look at yourselves now! Kahaha!"
Serpent's eyes gleamed with madness.
"Tch."
Siegfried thrashed to escape somehow, but the more he struggled, the tighter the seal bound him.
"It's a sealing technique we painstakingly obtained from a mysterious nation beyond the East. Not something you'll break easily."
"You damn scum."
"Still got that mouth on you, 7th Elder."
"3rd Elder... You think you'll get away with this?"
"Seems like we will."
Serpent bared his yellowed teeth in a repulsive grin.
He clicked his tongue and turned to Jamie beside him.
"Young master, why are you just standing there? You don't seem sealed."
"That gray orb is disrupting his mana."
Jamie nodded toward the gray sphere, and Siegfried furrowed his brow.
"They came prepared."
"How long to break free?"
"Hard to say."
Siegfried couldn't answer easily.
Analyzing the structure of this unique seal was impossible right now.
But that didn't mean he couldn't dispel it.
He didn't know what that mysterious nation was up to, but the ones using this seal were sub-6th-class mages.
Given enough time, he could escape.
"Can you hold out?"
Jamie quietly glared at Siegfried, then subtly lowered his head so the others couldn't see his lips— a blind spot from their position.
Siegfried could read lips.
"...You good?"
"I can manage."
"Enough chit-chat. First, the dean..."
Javelin snapped his fingers.
Darkness erupted from thin air and enveloped Siegfried.
"Take a little nap."
Siegfried ground his teeth, hating his helplessness.
"You dog bastard. When I get out, you're dead. I swear it on my soul."
With those words, Siegfried vanished completely.
Javelin smiled faintly.
"Now that the biggest threat is gone, I feel a bit more at ease."
Jamie, who had been listening silently, spoke to Javelin.
"You know you can't hold Siegfried with that seal forever."
"We can buy time. And by then... our plan will be nearly complete."
"Heh heh. No need to worry about us, little Welton brat."
"Filthy old geezer. Couldn't break the 7th-class wall, so you turned to Apophis?"
Jamie struck a nerve, and Serpent dropped his smile, glaring fiercely.
"Watch that mouth, or do you want your growth plates crushed young?"
Normally, Jamie would scoff at such threats, but he stayed still, eyeing the red lines aimed at both his knees.
What a dog of an old man.
"Anyway, this is tricky. Not sure what to do with him."
Javelin adjusted his glasses and circled Jamie.
"Can't use the spare seal in case another elder shows up. Regular seals feel unreliable. Killing him brings too much backlash."
Killing Jamie would inevitably make enemies of the world-renowned swordsmanship house of Welton and the Bell family—one of the top powers in the Sellam Kingdom.
They'd make plenty of enemies ahead, but Welton and Bell were too big.
Getting entangled would derail future plans. But releasing him led to the same end.
"Wipe his memory?"
"Saved by your backers, huh? Lucky brat."
Jamie sighed as the two debated his fate right in front of him.
"Why the sigh all of a sudden?"
"You're the one contracted with the demon, right?"
"Still fishing for info in this situation?"
"A foolish old man blinded by greed who contracts with a demon would've already lost his mind. Your eyes turning black earlier... That was you."
"This brat..."
Serpent approached with murderous intent to crush Jamie's head, but Javelin raised a hand to stop him.
"No."
"...You want me to swallow the insult?"
"Yes. Killing him would make things a real headache."
"Wipe his memory. Then alter it to think he got hurt by accident."
"No. Don't underestimate a grand mage."
At the mention of grand mage, veins bulged on Serpent's forehead.
To him, who hadn't yet grasped magical dominion, the term was like touching a reverse scale.
He glared at Javelin with killing intent, then clicked his tongue and turned away—clearly backing down first, his pride evident.
This guy's the brain.
Now it was certain.
Javelin was the one contracted with the demon.
Confirming Serpent had given up, Javelin smiled amiably at Jamie.
"Correct. I'm the contractor."
"You're a real madman."
"Think of it as one option."
"What the hell are you plotting? With preparations this thorough, 'equality of talent' can't be your real goal."
"Haha. That's just rhetoric to rally the underlings."
Javelin laughed heartily as he brushed past Jamie.
"You've sealed the space, huh? No one's coming despite the commotion."
"Exactly. That's why I'm kindly answering Teacher Jamie's questions."
The space they were in was perfectly isolated from the outside.
Even so, Phoenix Academy teachers were elite, yet fooled—so it was a high-level isolation spell.
Help from outside was unlikely.
"You're surrounded, Teacher Jamie. You're a genius, but with that gray orb, no magic or swordplay."
"As you've realized, we've prepared meticulously for every scenario."
Jamie closed his eyes at Serpent's taunt.
"One last question."
"Think we'll answer?"
"At least satisfy my curiosity."
"Hmm. Let's hear it."
"Planning to summon the Demon King or something?"
He pondered.
If Apophis wasn't for talent equality, then what?
For Serpent, it was likely a doping agent to forcibly expand his realm.
He didn't care what happened to others—purely selfish trash.
That's why such a simple man allied with a demon contractor.
So... what did the demon contractor want?
Was Apophis some panacea for demons?
No.
Only one thing he desired.
Unification of 'natures'.
Apophis affected the mana core, spreading through the channels, accumulating layer by layer throughout the body, imprinting the Apophis nature.
That nature would be common to all who ingested it, and amplified cores would make perfect sacrifices.
"No?"
Javelin didn't answer.
He just smiled.
"Well, not immediate, but we're playing the long game."
The magic world was just a stepping stone.
They'd leave soon.
Then conduct experiments in unknown places, repeating the process.
They couldn't be caught.
Even if caught, they needed to have fully departed first. Hence the thorough preparations.
"Cunning bastards."
"The current state of the world is flowing perfectly in our favor."
The world was focused on the Zenith Church.
Even if exposed, pursuit would be lighter than expected.
For Javelin, the world was ideal for his goals.
"Interesting talk. Now sleep long."
Javelin reached to place his hand on Jamie's head.
He felt sleep magic infiltrating his brain.
"But..."
At that moment, black mana—darkness—flowed out.
"The space isolation... solid, right?"
Jamie's eyes turned purple.
"You... that power?!"
"Javelin! Back off!"
"Too late."
They thought they'd covered every case, and they had blocked most.
The problem was Jamie being a 'reincarnator'.
A reincarnated black sorcerer with horrific power rivaling the 12 Gods!!
"You got too close."
The gray orb controlled mana, but not the black mana forged from the shadow world.
He reacted quickly up close, but Leviathan's power far exceeded his expectations.
Javelin's face twisted slightly as he muttered.
"This is..."
Crimson blood and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere.
One strike felled Javelin— in the most gruesome way.
At the horrific sight, Serpent couldn't even speak properly.
His shocked face stammered.
"Y-You... b-black sorcerer?!"
"You didn't see this coming, did you?"
Two purple lights swayed within the sticky darkness.
"I'll make you spill everything before you die."
That intense dread began to pervade the entire isolated space.