An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth (2)
The mana churns violently. Jang Hyun-do's body floats in the air like a feather.
"Guh... guh."
In a space where the dense concentration of mana has thinned the oxygen itself, Jang Hyun-do gasps for breath. But Karim Jeba doesn't budge an inch. He simply probes Jang Hyun-do's body.
No traces of mana remain.
Marcelo's thorough handling of affairs. Leaving not a single trace of mana that could serve as a clue was standard procedure. No matter how skilled Karim Jeba was, he couldn't track mana traces that weren't there.
Crackle—
Karim Jeba's brow furrows deeply.
"You dare deceive me, Akamptam?"
Akamptam had fled. That was the only conclusion Karim Jeba could draw.
Thud!
"Pathetic human whelp."
Jang Hyun-do plummets from the air.
"Ugh... ughhh..."
The unconscious Jang Hyun-do is flung to the floor.
Judging by the insolence of speaking so casually to him, the man remembered nothing properly.
"Was this your plan from the start?"
Why had Akamptam suddenly vanished?
Karim Jeba suppresses his boiling rage, like molten lava.
In the end, only one possibility came to mind.
'Demons are demons, after all?'
Demons were beings that deceived everything. Even if it was their own king, a demon king—no demon could shed its true nature.
He had no desire to waste effort on a mere demon of true names, but Akamptam knew too much.
'Was that why he spoke of specific plans?'
And not content with that, regarding the handling of affairs, Akamptam had requested that Karim Jeba step back.
Karim Jeba had simply waited.
"To trust a demon—how foolish."
And only now did he realize the truth: Akamptam was no longer in Jang Hyun-do's body.
"A grave miscalculation."
Trusting a demon had been his mistake. Karim Jeba admitted it.
But self-reproach didn't linger long.
'In the time wasted, I have come to a clear realization.'
That he no longer had any comrades.
With Akamptam gone, there was no way to obtain information from the Mage Tower.
"I am profoundly disappointed."
Telepathy yielded no response.
Thanks to that, he could be certain. Whether by their own will or coercion, the two elder mages were lost to him from here on.
Swipe—
Karim Jeba runs a hand over his face.
Then he speaks lowly.
"With this, the chances of success have greatly diminished."
To the point where he might almost want to give up.
Flash—
Yet Karim Jeba's eyes still burned brightly.
Like a scorching flame.
Yes, the unmistakable gaze of a mage.
"But if it were easy, that would be strange in itself."
The gaze of a mage yearning for truth.
"How could silently contemplating true truth be simple?"
The path to true truth.
Even if setbacks arose in the plan.
Even if Akamptam knew every detail.
Even if this action hastened his own end.
"Very well. No grander funeral could be imagined."
The mage Karim Jeba had no intention of retreating.
For true truth.
"This wretched flesh can be burned away a hundred times over."
That was the nature of us damned mages.
Thus, Karim Jeba warned.
"Once a fire takes hold, it cannot be easily contained."
Mage Tower? Demons? Adventurers? It mattered not who.
The path to true truth.
Anything in the way could simply be incinerated.
*
Fire Dragon, Karim Jeba.
True to his grandiose epithet, he was an extraordinary mage.
No need to crack open a magic tome for proof.
Senior flame mage, Bensy William.
His theatrics said it all.
"Frankly speaking, I'd rather sit this one out."
Crystal Hall.
With me and Marcelo, and all the senior mages gathered.
Bensy declared outright.
"Sir Karim Jeba—no, now a traitor to the tower. That bastard didn't earn the title Fire Dragon for nothing! His achievements in flame magic scholarship are beyond imagination. His power is something even I, Bensy William, could never match...!"
I knew that much already.
To dig many wells, I'd devoured every magic tome there was.
Naturally, I'd accumulated some knowledge on flame magic too.
'Karim Jeba's name popped up plenty.'
No exaggeration—his name appeared once per paragraph.
Seeming frustrated himself, Bensy thumped his chest.
Thump thump.
"Of course, I can't just bow out alone. But considering the nature of flame magic, that's what I'm saying here."
The nature of flame magic.
Reading is indeed power.
I knew it without being told.
'A magic with a clear hierarchy.'
Flames are devoured by greater flames.
Flame magic followed suit.
Suppose Karim Jeba and Bensy's flame magic clashed?
'No contest—the bigger flame engulfs ours.'
A joint spell from an elder and senior mage.
Just imagining it dries my mouth already.
In that sense, Bensy's words held merit.
"We have already considered that in your assignment."
Scribble scribble—
Marcelo busily works his quill.
As the word suggests, he's agonizing over how to group the senior mages.
Even the top mages in each field had strengths and weaknesses.
'Think like a player.'
Before entering a rift.
Like forming a party by class.
Of course, this assignment wasn't that critical.
The Mage Tower's goal was stopping the traitor Karim Jeba, not conquering rifts.
'The moment Karim Jeba's location is confirmed.'
All senior mages would converge there.
Distance between rifts? Portal magic was trivial.
To senior mages who burned mana like water, it was no concern.
'Though for my paltry mana, it's a bit taxing...'
Anyway, supplement with elixirs as much as possible.
As I resolve this, Marcelo continues.
"Indeed, only Senior Matis Din Karl can counter that risk factor."
Black magic senior mage, Matis Din Karl.
In the past, Matis had vied with Marcelo for chief mage.
Matis nods, respecting Marcelo's decision.
"...Pardon? Senior Matis with me?"
Of course, Bensy looks visibly burdened.
"No, it's not that serious, really? No need to trouble Senior Matis over this... Besides, wouldn't Senior Matis feel burdened by me too?"
Matis wielded considerable influence among the seniors.
'Like in the aptitude quest.'
Once Matis voted yes, the rest followed suit.
Bensy must feel uneasy acting alone with him.
Of course, I couldn't just stand by.
'Burnnnnniiiie?!'
Lucky you, Bensy William.
This was a grave mission tied to the Mage Tower's pride in punishing a traitor.
Petty discomforts couldn't take priority.
I speak up immediately, eyeing Matis.
"Is this decision burdensome to you, Matis?"
"No."
"There you have it, Senior Bensy William."
I ponder seriously.
...What must it feel like to deal with a boss like me?
One thing was certain.
'More exhausting than our department head.'
Unlike the head, who at least responded to flattery.
Bribes and bootlicking didn't work on me.
Bensy's reaction needed no explanation.
"No need to ask it like that...!!"
"I accept the assignment..."
With those mumbled words, Bensy falls silent.
Of course, other seniors wear equally unsettled expressions, no less than Bensy.
Probably due to how I addressed Matis.
Easy to misunderstand.
'That great Matis Din Karl.'
I'd called him by name so casually.
Of course, there was a complicated backstory.
"Impossible to pin down, truly."
Someone mutters.
Yes, they'd be dying to know that story.
But neither I nor Matis would breathe a word.
'I have zero intention of spilling.'
Explaining it fully would trace back to my first meeting with Matis.
Naturally, touching on my black magic aptitude.
The source of black magic.
My past as a fitting mana origin.
My black history—I'd die before revealing it.
Scribble—
Amid the minor commotion, Marcelo doesn't stop writing.
As a result, the assignments seem complete.
"I plan to monitor the rift interiors and move to support where needed. So... now it only remains for Chief Lee Hoyeol to decide."
Naturally.
Gazes turn to me.
I think honestly.
'...If I had my way.'
I'd tour every rift.
Gobble up every scrap the seniors dropped.
But no such leisure.
No telling which rift hid which demon, or Karim Jeba.
So I declare as resolved.
"I will accompany Senior."
Silence falls—
My words hit like ice water.
"...?"
The Crystal Hall plunges into silence.
Then someone barely speaks.
"...Senior? You don't mean...?"
Yes, that 'don't mean' was spot on.
The Senior I meant was the Mage Tower's elder mage, Senior.
Marcelo, speechless like the rest, regains composure and asks.
"Sir, do you mean Elder Mage Senior...?"
"Indeed. Elder Mage Senior."
"Accompany means Senior himself will leave the tower—for a rift?"
As one close to the leadership, Marcelo struggles to grasp it.
I'd thought the same once.
If only I'd handled it sooner.
-"You wouldn't understand, but mages are selfish, arrogant folk by nature. Age and realm change nothing of that innate trait."
But Senior's response was unexpected.
He'd bluntly admitted his own damned nature.
There was more backstory, but.
'Revealing personal matters in public.'
Breached decorum.
So I could only state facts.
Calmly continuing.
"Senior also requested permission to leave the tower from me. His purpose: to dispose of the traitor Karim Jeba with his own hands. I judged that purpose without regard to his station and permitted his departure."
My words stir a commotion in the Crystal Hall.
"Senior got permission from Chief Lee Hoyeol?"
"Chief Lee Hoyeol holds full authority over departures, but..."
"Even disregarding rank, this is..."
They prized procedure this much.
All shocked, no doubt.
Even I had no defense if fired.
I'd marvel at my own audacity too.
Such murmuring from seniors?
I could generously overlook it.
"Surprising, but welcome news."
As expected, Marcelo judges swiftly.
Then continues to me.
"But impossible without you, sir."
Not quite.
'Senior's not what he seems.'
But regardless of my thoughts.
Marcelo seemed utterly sincere.
He clearly overestimates me.
But I won't deny it.
Grandfell knew no such thing as humility. Underestimation demanded proof. Overestimation? He made it reality.
Me too.
Born this way.
Of course, that alone couldn't explain.
As shock slowly fades.
Someone raises a fundamental doubt.
"Sure, procedure—we get it. But didn't Chief Lee Hoyeol just call Elder Mage Senior... plain 'Senior'?"
Pride wouldn't let them accept Senior.
To explain that tangled tale.
Like with Matis.
Back to the past.
In the end, I mention another innocent fact.
I stand.
Speak shamelessly.
"In departures under my supervision, rank is irrelevant."
I realize anew.
If madness it is.
Better go all in, untouchable.
"Objections? Raise them by procedure."
Clack—
A new post appears on the Arcana official homepage.
-Wednesday.
Not Thursday.
Not the scheduled update—an emergency one.
I knew what that meant better than anyone.
No hesitation.
Adjusting the brooch angle.
Straightening my attire.
Setting down the teacup calmly.
I scrawl across the parchment with a quill.
Elder: Senior
Chief: Marcelo
All Senior Mages
Assemble.