Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: The Fake (3)
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‘What the hell happened?’
Gav couldn’t comprehend the current situation.
The darkness he commanded had slipped from his control, devouring its own master instead.
How could this be?
The surroundings were pitch black. That was only natural. The darkness he wielded was deeper and darker than night itself.
A perfect abyss that permitted not a single point of light.
Trapping enemies here had always been his role.
Yet now, he was the one imprisoned.
‘This can’t be happening.’
Gav tried to summon the darkness.
He didn’t use conventional mana. The violet darkness formed the foundation of his magic.
But with the darkness beyond his command, he couldn’t cast spells either.
“What have you done to me?!”
Gav shouted toward what he couldn’t tell was up or down.
He had lived for ten thousand years, but this was the first time in ages he’d been in such a predicament.
Once when the 12 Gods decided to wipe out the world, once when a divine apostle appeared to kill him during the era he perfectly ruled the Millennial Empire, and now once more as the control of darkness was helplessly stripped away.
Nearly nine thousand years had passed since the second crisis, so “ages” didn’t even begin to cover it.
‘To think I’d fall to a mere brat like that...!’
Honestly, he was astonished by Jamie’s skill.
When he sensed their high synchronization, he knew the boy possessed some power of darkness.
But his skill was still sorely lacking.
Merely 7th class.
He was far superior when handling black magic, but from personal experience, the kid was still a novice.
At first, he’d only pretended to be overwhelmed to make possession easier.
The problem was not realizing the brat’s talent for wielding darkness surpassed his own.
“Damn it all!!”
Gav glared wide-eyed, trying to reclaim control of the darkness, but it felt as if every remnant had drained from his body—he sensed nothing.
That was when it happened.
A massive eye appeared in the empty darkness.
The violet pupil gleamed menacingly, sending chills down the spine just by looking at it.
“...What are you? How can you wield such darkness? I’ve lived ten thousand years, but I’ve never seen anything like you!”
The single eye multiplied into two, three, five, dozens, hundreds, thousands...
They endlessly proliferated, filling the darkness completely.
All those eyes fixed solely on Gav.
“...Master?”
“I’m not a fake!!”
Gav bellowed, veins bulging in his neck.
“I’m just doing everything to survive! The ultimate goal of our kind is unconditional survival! So I use everything I can! Once the World Reset begins, all species will be exterminated anyway. So we must survive and spread superior kin across the new world! You dare call me a fake for that?!”
“You keep saying strange things. This darkness is your power? A human who hasn’t even lived eight years dares to...”
“Th-that’s...”
Even in this situation, unwilling to die, Gav held his tongue and retreated.
Not that there was anywhere to flee.
Jamie found the sight utterly repulsive and intolerable.
“N-no! I’m not a fake! I don’t care who you are—no one can condemn me! Because of me, humanity has survived this long! No one can deny that!”
“What else do you have to say...”
Thousands of pupils narrowed.
“...What?”
“...”
“What the hell are you? Answer me!!”
The darkness roiled.
Gav staggered and collapsed to the ground.
An absurd laugh escaped him. The ground shaking enough to knock him down felt utterly unreal.
The voice continued.
The darkness coiled around Gav’s head.
Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure threatening to split his skull, Gav panicked and tried desperately to shake it off.
Even cornered like this, he thrashed to survive.
The darkness burrowed into his skin and invaded his brain.
Jamie, now in physical form, looked down at the writhing Gav with cold, dead eyes and said,
“Realize just how meaningless your life has been.”
Gav’s violently convulsing body went limp like a puppet with cut strings.
“It’s taking quite a while.”
“Indeed.”
Siegfried and the other two grand mages stared at the still-sealed door.
The Orb of Omniscience delivered desired information instantly upon being worn on the head.
Some would be what one sought, some unwanted, but the process never took long.
They should have emerged long ago by now.
“Could something have gone wrong?”
“Was there even anything that could go wrong?”
“Not in my memory.”
The two nodded in agreement with Luke’s final remark.
They decided to wait a bit longer in silence.
But even as more time passed, Jamie showed no sign of emerging.
Unable to bear it, Siegfried approached the entrance.
“You know the Orb of Omniscience’s storage space allows only one person at a time.”
“I’m the young master’s guardian. It matters now more than ever, but I made a promise with Count Welton.”
It was the same when he first escorted Jamie, and even during this appointment ceremony, Siegfried had met privately with Count Welton.
-My son may be a grand mage now, but he’s still a child. I know he’s no ordinary boy, but as a parent, I can’t help worrying. So I’m asking you—please continue watching over him.
Siegfried had gladly agreed.
“So I need to check.”
“What will you do, Second Elder?”
“It is strange that he still hasn’t come out...”
“Mm.”
When even Linmel sided with Siegfried, Luke scratched his forehead with a troubled look.
“Good grief.”
Luke shook his head as if he couldn’t stop them.
“Pretend I didn’t see this.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Thank you, Fifth Elder.”
The two placed their hands on the door.
Mana flowed in, and green lines spread along the circuits throughout the corridor.
With a faint vibration, the doors parted left and right, unleashing a massive torrent of water that had filled the interior.
“What in the—!”
“Block the water first!”
“Damn it!”
The three grand mages simultaneously combined their powers to push back the water.
United, even this enormous volume was no challenge.
In moments, the three—now soaked like drowned rats—panted heavily, exchanging grave looks.
“...Has this ever happened before?”
“First time in history.”
“In other words, an unprecedented incident.”
“More importantly, what about Jamie... the Third Elder?”
Luke, recovering first, dried his robe with magic and headed toward the Orb of Omniscience.
The other two followed suit, drying their robes as they went.
“First, we need to deal with this water.”
“Please.”
Siegfried was a space magic specialist.
As he chanted and raised his summoned staff, a circular hole formed at the center of the water-filled space.
The massive volume of water began swirling into it.
“Where does it lead?”
“Lake Kephi.”
Lake Kephi was a large lake not far from the magic realm, capable of accommodating this much water.
Once the water drained away, the three could finally enter.
The pressure from the volume must have been immense, as most of the artifacts comprising the space were shattered.
Siegfried moved straight for the broken glass orb, leaving the others behind.
“...?!”
But he couldn’t approach.
An invisible but immensely powerful barrier blocked the way.
“What’s wrong?”
“Some force is blocking it.”
“Who could have...”
The three had guarded the door.
To enter here, one had to pass that corridor and door.
But this was a place only grand mages could access, and even then, impossible to infiltrate undetected.
In short, it was a perfectly sealed space.
“Unless a dragon came...”
Dragons, lords of magic, were another story—but why would one sneak in here?
They’d just obliterate the magic realm if they wanted.
That was when it happened.
Kiiiiing—!!
Space warped above the shattered glass orb, spewing an intense, eerie light.
The three braced for potential shockwaves while dissecting the light’s mana structure in their unique ways to identify it.
But its true nature eluded them.
“The space is fracturing!”
Siegfried, first to sense the unstable spatial tremors, warned the others.
The light grew larger, spreading until it filled the invisible barrier.
And then.
“It’s coming!”
As the three sensed a massive presence and prepared for battle—!
“Hoo~”
A familiar sigh accompanied someone emerging through the light.
A small silhouette flickered.
The three stared blankly at the figure before Siegfried spoke first.
“...Young master?”
“Hm?”
Jamie looked back and forth between Siegfried and the two grand mages with puzzled eyes.
“Why are you all here? And...”
He scanned the devastated surroundings, squinting one eye.
“What did you do to make such a mess?”
The three prime suspects exchanged glances and sighed deeply.
“...At least you’re safe. Let’s talk downstairs.”
“Agreed.”
“This is a headache. Sigh.”
It was an urgent matter, but with their worry appearing unscathed, all tension drained away.
They exited the space, leaving Jamie behind.
Jamie scratched his head for no reason.
“What’s their deal?”
He shrugged and gazed at the violet gem in his hand.
The purple darkness Gav had swallowed—Diablo Volpir’s condensed black mana.
“Well. As long as they didn’t notice this, it’s fine.”
Jamie smiled, recalling the events just ten minutes prior.