novelraw Chapter 189 : A Shaded Place (3)
Chapter 189 : A Shaded Place (3)
A Shaded Place (3)
Iden Void.
The world's greatest great mage, and the leader of modern magic.
Head of 'Odin's Eye', the largest magic alliance in Europe—no, in the world.
He had even been granted a title by the queen of England and was being considered as the next prime minister.
People called Iden with respect:
'Odin.'
"I didn't expect you to do this to the mages of the Magic Tower all by yourself."
Iden appeared leisurely as he spoke.
He was dressed head to toe in black.
A black robe, with a glimpse of the black suit underneath, suited his ashen hair well.
Although he was known to be over sixty, he appeared no older than thirty.
Not a single wrinkle marred his upright features, proof of his outstanding prowess.
For the awakened, the stronger their power, the younger they appeared.
"Park Jung-woo."
He paid no attention to the mages collapsed around us, and looked solely at me.
"Did you move, thinking of the aftermath?"
He seemed relaxed, but his voice held anger.
Of course I was an issue, but it looked like Shin Ah-yeon standing indifferently behind me didn't sit well with him either.
"What you two are doing is a detriment to the advancement of the magic world."
"Even so, forcing things in this way isn't right."
"People can't always do things the right way."
Snap!
He spoke and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, darkness fell, and everyone except for Iden, me, and Shin Ah-yeon disappeared from sight.
It wasn't circle magic.
Just basic elemental magic.
It was a method similar to the elemental magic Sol Mayer had improved.
Deploying various elemental magics in layers to alter phenomena—
It required about twice the amount of magic power as circle magic for the same effect, and was much more difficult to perform.
"Quite inefficient."
As if reading my thoughts, Iden spoke.
"Sol Mayer was an excellent mage—inefficient, yes, but capable of creating such magic on his own."
As he spoke, he looked at Shin Ah-yeon.
"If he had known circle magic, he would have created even more brilliant magic. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us."
Shin Ah-yeon listened to Iden for a moment, then quietly asked me,
"Sol Mayer died?"
"Didn't you watch the competition results?"
"How would I? There's no internet!"
There was no internet here either, apparently.
Knowing her personality, I could imagine how bored she must have been.
Since it wasn't the right mood to explain now, I decided to fill her in later.
"Park Jung-woo, how about making a deal with us?"
"A deal?"
"If you share circle magic with us, Odin's Eye will fully support you going forward."
It was quite a compromise for Iden.
He had the power to just take it, yet offered very politely.
Iden probably thought of it as a great offer.
Most would have accepted.
Odin's Eye's authority and power were immense.
Of course, that didn't apply to me.
"I refuse."
"...... Huh?"
"There's no particular merit for us in that offer."
I answered indifferently and Iden's lips twitched.
He must not have expected me to react this way.
"Aren't you afraid of Odin's Eye?"
"No."
"Extraordinary."
He closed his eyes gently, as if pondering something.
"You should learn to think more carefully about who stands before you before speaking."
Though it was just a murmur, Iden's voice seemed to reverberate through the space itself.
Massive magic power surged, and the mana filling the Magic Tower began to stir.
Iden hadn't even used magic.
His mana stirred purely in response to his emotions.
Proof of his high mana affinity, the source of his talent at the pinnacle of magehood.
"Perhaps you and great mage Shin Ah-yeon should stay here for a while."
With a gesture, Iden moved his massive mana toward us.
Like a giant's hand, it reached to grasp Shin Ah-yeon and me in one go.
"Sorry, but I'm a bit busy."
But that attempt failed.
Before he could complete the action, I was already gripping his throat.
"If you could avoid doing anything bothersome, I'd appreciate it."
And I yanked him toward me.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"......!!"
He tried to release a burst of mana to shake me off, but that was pointless.
If he wasn't going all out, there was no way Iden could shake me off.
"You don't truly want to fight us, do you?"
"Do you even realize what you're doing right now?"
"Rather, do you realize what you're doing?"
His audacity made me laugh dryly.
"I don't believe you were unaware of Sol Mayer's situation."
He was the man called 'Odin'.
He couldn't not know about Sol Mayer, about his collusion with the demons, about Chester Mayer.
"Yet you're proposing we work together."
Honestly, I wanted to crush his neck right then.
But resolving that'd be troublesome, and he wouldn't go down easily.
The Magic Tower was crowded, and we were in the heart of London.
I didn't want to fight Iden in a place where he could rain down wide-area magic like a storm.
"...... And you think you'll get away with this?"
"Yeah."
I tossed Iden away.
He smashed through the black barrier, his body flung through the air.
He barely managed to stop himself before hitting the wall.
"Khk!!"
"O-Odin!"
When we reappeared, Barack cried out in confusion.
Iden didn't even glance at Barack, just shot me a sharp glare.
"Very well. If you want to leave, go."
He stroked his throat where I'd grabbed him, glaring at me.
"I'll make sure you pay for this."
"Go ahead."
I snorted and turned away, leading Shin Ah-yeon with me.
She watched us for a moment, then quietly spoke.
"Is it okay just to leave him?"
"So?"
"Well, if it's okay, I was thinking of sweeping them all away with magic in secret."
Is this really the reincarnation of a Saintess?
Her words were so vicious, I doubted it.
Regardless, blowing up the Magic Tower with magic was impossible.
"The Magic Tower is surrounded by magic barriers. No way."
"I know—that's why I etched magic arrays here and there while I was wandering around."
"...... What?"
"The tower is always full of magic power because so many mages gather here. I think Iden uses that to deploy defensive arrays. But I could use that against them and make it all explode."
She was dead serious.
She'd even secretly laid down magic arrays during her stay.
Was she really going to blow them up and run if things went wrong?
Is this really a Saintess...? Well, Estella could be like that at times too.
'Maybe there's an instinct engraved in their souls to blow everything up if cornered.'
In some ways, Estella's scale was even bigger.
If she'd been a little more twisted, the war would have ended in the demons' victory.
'Maybe I'll find this useful later.'
I wasn't planning to use it now, but Shin Ah-yeon's information was definitely worthwhile.
"There's no need to do that."
"But don't you think they'll retaliate later...?"
"They won't be able to."
"What?"
She looked at me as if wondering what I meant.
If a group as big as Odin's Eye pressured us, it would be a headache.
'That's only if they're in a position to put on that pressure.'
Odin's Eye wouldn't dare touch us.
We had much stronger backing.
***
"Send an official protest to Korea about Park Jung-woo, who caused this incident."
Iden ordered Barack irritably.
He showed no interest in the ruined tower or fallen mages.
"Demand full compensation for all damages. Ten times over."
Iden had no intention of letting Park Jung-woo, who dared do this to him, go unpunished.
He would ruin his social reputation and everything he had achieved.
'As they said, he has phenomenal power.'
But that was Odin's Eye's concern.
He'd briefly wondered if, like with Sol Mayer, it wouldn't be better to let them have power, but Iden shook his head.
He had no intention of relying on unknown forces.
At least not yet.
"B-but, Odin, that may be difficult."
"What do you mean?"
"We've already reported the incident to the British Parliament. They refused."
Iden stopped in his tracks on the way back to his office.
"Refused?"
"Yes. The Prime Minister told us directly not to touch Park Jung-woo."
The British Prime Minister himself?
"Ha, ridiculous. Isn't this the same person who begged us to build the Magic Tower in London?"
"It's because Park Jung-woo's backers are much more dangerous than Odin's Eye."
"What organization would be powerful enough to refuse Odin's Eye?"
Barack's hesitant response was incomprehensible to Iden.
Odin's Eye was the world's largest magic alliance.
To defy Odin's Eye was to turn your back on most of the world's mages.
At best, he's just the manager of a small country.
How powerful could the backers of some man from a mid-sized management organization really be?
"America."
"......?"
"America is backing Park Jung-woo."
That finally explained to Iden why Park Jung-woo was so confident.
He had caused such a massive incident and remained unfazed because he could handle the aftermath.
If America was his backer, everything made sense.
'Maybe he's got something in Korea too.'
Does he have the power of both countries at his back?
Thinking that way made Park Jung-woo seem far larger than before.
「It would be wise to be especially cautious of Park Jung-woo.」
The only warning given by those who had proposed a deal to him.
Iden hadn't thought much of it.
He'd simply taken it to mean he should be careful since Park Jung-woo was Korea's coach for Odyssey.
But it was more than that.
'What is that guy, really.'
Iden gazed darkly in the direction Jung-woo had gone.
He might need to have another talk with those people.
***
"Anyway, at least we'll get back in time."
I nodded at Shin Ah-yeon's comment.
It had been a close call, but catching a flight to America would get us there two days before the finals.
Staring out at the sky through the plane window, Shin Ah-yeon spoke.
"But Iden—do you think he's had contact with the demons?"
"He must have. There's no way he didn't know about Sol Mayer."
"So we can assume Odin's Eye is involved with the demons."
With those words, Shin Ah-yeon fell silent, thoughtful.
"Why do I keep getting tangled up with demons?"
"Mm?"
Seeing my look of confusion, she hurriedly added,
"It's just, with the Yeon-ji incident, and Jeju, it feels like I keep getting involved with demons."
"That's true."
"Right?"
With that, she hastily averted her gaze.
It was a trivial comment, but for some reason it nagged at me.
Because it felt like the "demons" she mentioned was more than just that.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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