Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: The Legendary Archmage
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Ramin Solrost Muel had seen Garudas a few times before.
It was during the era of adventure.
In the past, he had despaired, thinking he could no longer make his presence known in the land where he lived. But in this land of opportunity, fame was always within reach.
It didn't have to be about slaying monsters through adventures or excavating ancient ruins. Building a settlement in new territory, forging bonds with unfamiliar races, cultivating hard-to-grow plants, or digging a well—anyone who did such things was a hero.
Ramin had been one too.
Garudas were tall and slender, making them well-suited to gaining fame as adventurers.
And Ramin had witnessed those Garudas retire and return to their homeland, or settle here permanently.
Young Garudas were quite attractive, regardless of race. Froglins and Deep Ones sometimes found them intimidating, for some reason.
But old Garudas were the complete opposite.
Their feathers fell out, exposing wrinkled skin, and their beaks were chipped at the tips—it was a pitiful sight. They weren't as short-lived as smaller races, but they didn't live much longer than humans either.
'But this legendary mage... he seems to have cheated time itself.'
He wasn't maintaining his youthful appearance unchanged, that much was certain.
Otherwise, Ramin might have wondered if this Garuda was a vampire.
His once deep brown feathers had faded to a grayish hue.
But his neck frill was even more puffed up than before, and the feathers around his eyebrows and under his eyes stood out sharply, nearly white. His beak remained black and sturdy.
At two meters and forty centimeters tall—imposing even among Garudas—with broad shoulders that made him stand proudly against any troll.
"Greetings can wait. First, we need to deal with those rabble."
"Yes, sir."
The apostle of Yacheon and third apostle of the Pantheon, known as the Third Stone, or by other names: "The Soaring One," "Archmage," "Staff of the Arrivals."
He hadn't fully lifted the curse that kept Garudas from flight, but Mazdari had overcome it himself.
He built a mage tower, gathered ancient knowledge from across the continent, and trained future mages there.
And by wielding ancient power to actively carry out Yacheon's will, no enemy dared face him without fear.
Mazdari had a fearsome reputation.
Rumors called him the "Feathered Nightmare" in Danri lands, or "Corpse Crow" despite little resemblance to crows.
Just as crows perched on branches before a war, the battlefields where Mazdari appeared turned nightmarish for his foes.
Mazdari nodded slightly, acknowledging Gorgota Palu's salute, then glared at Ramin.
Ramin panicked.
'What? Does he know me...?'
But Mazdari kept his beak shut and brushed past Ramin.
It was Gorgota he addressed.
"Agent."
"Yes, sir."
Mazdari began scratching something on the ground with the staff he carried.
"Do you know all the members of the Intelligence Division?"
"Yes, I do."
"Could you identify them from silhouette alone at a distance?"
"That's..."
"I hope so. Well, fortunately, it won't be that hard."
Once the magic circle was complete, Mazdari tapped its center with the tip of his staff.
The circle divided into four parts, floating up and glowing red.
In an instant, the noises inside the Intelligence Division building—the gunfire, shouts, screams—all vanished.
Ramin wondered.
'Soundproofing?'
Gorgota peered over the rooftop railing and said,
"No one's there. What happened?"
Mazdari pointed to the sky.
"Not below—look up, agent. Check for Intelligence Division personnel. Everyone in the area except you two and me has been teleported one kilometer up."
"Everyone?"
"Yes. Everyone."
Gorgota and Ramin looked skyward.
Screams began to echo.
At first, they thought stars were moving, but it was falling people.
Mazdari said,
"The masked ones in black are Danri agents, no doubt. I'll catch the rest, so if I miss any, point them out."
"...Yes, sir! Understood."
Mazdari scanned the sky once, then clenched his fist in the air.
Intelligence Division members without masks or black clothes floated like drifting leaves, then descended slowly.
The toothy agents plummeted straight to the ground.
-Crunch!
Several screams grew closer, then cut off with gruesome bone-cracking sounds.
Gorgota pointed out a few Mazdari missed.
About fifty toothy agents hit the ground and flattened. Silence returned.
The weightless Intelligence personnel finally landed softly.
Crowds gathered, looking up at the rooftop and chattering. When Mazdari raised and lowered his hand, Ramin realized they were saluting.
People scattered chaotically, pointing at corpses or carrying the wounded.
Ramin surveyed the scene.
A few toothy agents had fallen on the rooftop too, their bodies staining the surface dark red.
Mazdari said, almost apologetically,
"Picking them off one by one would take too long. Others would die in the meantime. Can't wipe them all out at once either. So I sorted them for ease. Worked out well, it seems. ...Ah, agent."
"Yes?"
"Think we should have spared some for interrogation? I could briefly revive the dead with magic and make them talk."
Gorgota cut in.
"No need, Apostle. Our intel says most toothy agents in Basenial are low-rank. None would know the operation planners or key contacts."
"Fair enough."
Gorgota knew Mazdari should still be on the eastern front.
Even Ramin, an Intelligence agent, thought so—Danri must have too. No one anticipated Mazdari showing up.
'So they figured low-level grunts would suffice.'
Proof: no survivors among the toothy agents. "Magic Barriers" to block specific spells cost a fortune, yet none had them. Executives would have.
Given apostles' sway over Intelligence, the situation looked under Mazdari's control.
Intelligence answered to the emperor.
The emperor followed the gods' will.
Gods gave clear guidance on small matters but not grand flows.
Apostles communed directly with gods.
They didn't discuss grand flows but could command emperor and Intelligence directly.
Easier for Intelligence than waiting for priestly oracles.
But contrary to Gorgota's thoughts, Mazdari didn't descend to meet familiar Intelligence executives. He walked elsewhere.
Ramin panicked as Mazdari approached.
"Uh, um?"
"You look alike."
"Huh? Like who?"
Mazdari started to speak, then clacked his beak shut.
"Never mind."
Mazdari said,
"You two, meet at the west gate at dawn."
Gorgota asked,
"Both of us?"
"Yes. You were military, right? Fought on the eastern front?"
"How did you know?"
"We're acquainted, aren't we?"
Gorgota replied, surprised.
"Yes. When our unit was isolated on the island, you came. Thought you wouldn't remember—just passing by."
"Good aim with a rifle. Sharp eyes too. Thanks to that, I didn't kill anyone we shouldn't today. Figured I'd miss a couple."
"...You're too kind."
"I need capable agents."
"As you wish."
Ramin said,
"Wait. I have school."
"Handle it yourself."
"How? Dawn's hours away."
"I need to stop at the mage tower now."
"Hey!"
Gorgota wanted to intervene, but Ramin was about Mazdari's age, give or take.
The realization unsettled him.
Mazdari ignored Ramin irritably and headed for the railing.
"Hey? I've lived nicely, you know?"
Mazdari turned from the railing to Gorgota.
Pointing at Ramin, he said,
"Agent, bring him. We're going because of him."
Gorgota saluted crisply.
"Yes, sir! Understood."
Ramin gawked at them alternately, incredulous.
Mazdari leaped into flight, vanishing skyward.
Even that seemed effortless.
-
Much had happened since dawn.
Mazdari left without cleanup, so Gorgota explained his magic and issued orders. He handled Ramin's school leave and Parallel Nation vampire travel procedures before sunrise—waking professors, university staff, and examiners at home, flashing his Intelligence ID.
By the end, the sun was rising.
They rushed to the car and drove to the west gate.
Gorgota hoped otherwise, but Mazdari was already there.
A hooded figure stood beside him, face hidden.
As the car stopped, Mazdari said,
"You're late."
"Sorry, sir."
"No matter. Good you brought the car. Drive to the airfield."
"Pardon?"
Mazdari and the companion boarded the back seat.
Gorgota, flustered, started driving.
The magic-steam hybrid vehicle lurched forward.
"Airship?"
"Yes."
"...Not a secret we can't know till the end, I hope?"
Mazdari said,
"Was going to explain aboard, but whatever. We're heading to the Western Continent."
"Pardon?"
"Western Continent" referred from Orzan-central view, but stuck even in the Southern Continent.
To players, it meant Danri-dominated Second Continent.
"Then north by ship to the mainland, then..."
"No. South."
"...Pardon?"
"You know the world is round. Go south from here, reach the Western Continent's north."
"I know, but... isn't there a problem?"
"What problem?"
Gorgota hesitated; Ramin jumped in.
"We'd cross the front lines!"
"Yes. Straight through the warzone."
"What..."
Mazdari frowned.
"No idea what you're getting at. Shortest path. Empire's all battlefields anyway. Same wherever."
"No, before that—why do I need to go to Danri?"
Mazdari's silent companion spoke.
"Big sis."
"...Big sis?"
"We're going to meet Hwigyeong. Ancestor to me, parent to you."
Ramin blurted the most absurd of three questions.
"Wait, why am I your big sis?"
The companion removed the hood.
A young human male.
But unusual: horns on his forehead.
"I'm Hwi Juran Muel. We share a name, so we're family, right?"