Returnee's S-Ra Chapter 188 : A Shaded Place (2)

A Shaded Place (2)

"They really are all just a bunch of thieves."

Shin Ah-yeon let out a sigh in the dark room.

She couldn't help it, recalling what felt like the countless ti she'd had a conversation with 'Odin'.

Odin's Eye kept demanding things from her that she would never agree to.

'Defection, really.'

They said if she left Unique and ca over to Odin's Eye, they'd give her every convenience.

When she refused, what they asked for next was even more shaless.

"If that's not acceptable, then how about joint research on circle magic?"

Iden, the world's greatest mage known by the alias 'Odin'.

He said that in a subtle tone.

Perhaps, from his point of view, it was a great compromise.

Countless mages had always sought to learn from him, so he was always the one who got to choose.

It must have been the first ti he'd ever asked soone for sothing.

"There are countless mages in Odin's Eye. You know that, don't you? For magic to advance, many mages have to ponder and research together. Hoarding it all to yourself isn't right."

The words sounded plausible enough.

It was essentially an invitation to work together to further develop circle magic, for the sake of advancing modern magic.

"How funny. All you really want is to steal circle magic under the pretense of research."

"Steal? I'd watch my words, if I were you."

"You're the one who needs to be careful. Dragging soone here just to listen to you whine about wanting to learn circle magic gives

a headache, you know?"

"That's harsh, Shin Ah-yeon."

Iden looked baffled by Shin Ah-yeon's sharp words.

In the end, he said they'd talk again next ti, ending yet another eting.

"So I'm harsh now."

Shin Ah-yeon snorted, recalling Iden's words.

If she'd unleashed the things she said when gaming on him, would he really have kept his composure?

He might have gone ballistic, threatening to kill her.

"Maybe that would've been easier......"

She figured she'd still be able to handle Iden one way or another.

Apart from circle magic, even before then, he'd had skills not so different from hers.

But now, when she couldn't use Conceptualization Technique, things could get pretty tough.

Still, with circle magic, her chances were good enough.

'The problem is, he's not the only one in this tower.'

Currently, even without Iden, there were still two more great mages in Odin's Eye.

Of the world's seven great mages, most belonged to Odin's Eye and visited this Magic Tower regularly.

Turning Odin's Eye into an enemy was like making the entire magic world your enemy.

That wasn't an exaggeration.

Turning a simple rcenary organization into a massive guild.

Then into a transnational entity—Iden's abilities were sothing even Shin Ah-yeon had to acknowledge.

"What do I do now... There can't be much ti left until Odyssey. Would it be too late if I left now?"

She wanted to just smash her way out, but she hesitated for fear of causing harm to others. There was also the risk of what Odin's Eye might do to Korea.

'But this all feels oddly familiar.'

Sitting quietly in the assigned room without turning on the light, amidst her gloomy mood, she was struck by how familiar it all felt.

How long had it been since she'd simply sat in a not-so-large room, not even playing gas, just sitting quietly?

'Sohow, it's familiar.'

Since childhood, she'd always been strangely accustod to these shaded places.

She wasn't sure why.

Her interest in gas probably wasn't unrelated.

She was used to playing alone in the shadows.

'This doesn't feel good.'

Her head felt inexplicably hot.

It was like the feeling she got when she was angry.

But since Shin Ah-yeon's mind was utterly calm, the sensation was strange.

'What is this?'

Her surging magic power felt like it might burst out at any mont.

The area around her back also felt oddly hot, and just as she wondered about it—

KWAANG!!

"Wha—!!"

The entire Magic Tower shook violently.

As a result, Shin Ah-yeon, who had been sitting absentmindedly, hit her head against the wall and scread.

"... An earthquake?"

She wondered if soone was attacking, but soon shook her head.

There was no individual or group that would dare storm Odin's Eye.

So Shin Ah-yeon simply assud there had been so kind of magical experint gone wrong.

That was far more reasonable.

***

Barack was having trouble understanding what was happening.

When he heard there was an intruder at Odin's Eye, he wondered what kind of lunatic it could be.

Who would dare fight against so many mages and great mages?

Not only that, but considering the fallout that would arise from tangling with Odin's Eye, it made no sense.

"It's not a group, but a lone individual?"

The entrance had been breached, and when the mages gathered on the first floor of the Magic Tower were subdued, Barack thought for sure the assailants were a skilled group.

He had never imagined one person would do all that.

"It's Park Jung-woo. Park Jung-woo, sir."

His assistant, revansen, spoke urgently.

"Park Jung-woo? You an that Park Jung-woo?"

"Y-yes! It's Park Jung-woo, currently serving as Korea's coach. He's also Shin Ah-yeon's manager."

"Don't tell ... he did all this because of Shin Ah-yeon?"

Because of Odyssey?

Or maybe just because he didn't want Shin Ah-yeon cooped up here any longer?

Either way, it was madness.

If it was the forr, there were plenty of other ways to resolve it.

"Great Mage Honain has already gone down, so things should work out sohow, right?"

"If it's Honain... It should be fine."

Honain, who specialized in lightning magic, was especially talented in duels.

The only issue was that he was notoriously short-tempered and ruthless.

Barack had no idea what Park Jung-woo was thinking, attacking the Magic Tower, but now that he'd fallen into Honain's hands, he likely wouldn't co out unscathed.

"Was Park Jung-woo an awakened, though?"

"Er... I'm not sure. I rember hearing so speculation to that effect, but..."

"And Odin, did you report to him? What did he say?"

"Yes, but he didn't seem especially concerned."

That was the expected reaction.

Honain had already gone to apprehend Park Jung-woo, and there were many more mages besides.

There was no way a single person could overturn this situation.

Still, Barack couldn't help but be bothered by the whole affair.

'Was he always this reckless?'

He'd doubted the man's abilities, but never expected he'd do sothing this foolhardy.

"Where is it that Honain headed?"

"To the Hall of Wisdom on the fifth floor."

"I'll go, too."

"Excuse , sir? There's no need for you to go, Barack-nim..."

"I feel like I need to see it for myself."

Saying as much, Barack hurried towards the Hall of Wisdom on the fifth floor of the Magic Tower.

The closer he got to the hall, the more the surroundings grew unnaturally quiet.

When he'd been moving at first, there had been all sorts of noise.

"... My god."

Barack swallowed dryly as he arrived at the Hall of Wisdom.

"You did all this, then?"

A man in a neat black suit with a fierce look in his eyes.

His body showed no visible injuries.

To anyone looking, he might have just co from shopping at a departnt store.

If not for the fact that Honain was embedded in the wall next to him.

"Mon...ster."

Honain squird where he was stuck in the wall, mumbling.

This was impossible.

'Magic... doesn't work at all.'

Park Jung-woo had torn the barrier enveloped in lightning with his bare hands and slamd him into the floor.

When his fist swung, the magic barriers of the mages shattered like paper and they were knocked out in one blow.

Did this make any sense?

Dozens of mages had gone at him and hadn't left a single scratch.

"I've taken much stronger lightning before, you know."

Worse yet, it was the worst possible match-up.

Energy projection-type magic was almost useless against Park Jung-woo.

If it had been ice or fire magic, maybe he would have struggled a little.

Not that it made much difference for a great mage.

"Are you planning to take

on, too?"

Park Jung-woo took his eyes off Honain and looked at Barack.

"Haaa..."

For soone to so brazenly claim they would face a great mage...

If anyone else had said it, he'd have hit them with a spell before they could finish, but in this case, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Barack wasn't particularly confident in combat, and he'd only end up like Honain, stuck in the wall.

"... I'll guide you to Shin Ah-yeon."

At this point, it was obvious his goal was Shin Ah-yeon.

He briefly considered taking Park Jung-woo to Iden, but even the one called "Odin" might not be able to handle the man before him.

That's how astonishingly powerful Park Jung-woo seed right now.

***

The shaking stopped.

Shin Ah-yeon cautiously opened her eyes.

'So it was a magic power experint, after all?'

From the constantly churning magic power, it seed like they'd run a particularly intense experint.

Most elental magic tended to be like that, so it made sense.

'I'm bored.'

Without a computer, she just ended up sleeping all the ti.

She had a smartphone, but with no internet service, it was nothing more than a glowing brick.

'I wonder what that woman did for a thousand years.'

Saint Estella.

Left all alone like this, Shin Ah-yeon suddenly thought of her.

Even staying quietly like this for a short while was hard, but Estella had been imprisoned in a dark room, unable to leave, for centuries.

'No wonder, really.'

Locked away by humans for a thousand years, how could she not bear a grudge?

Looking at Alencia, the Saintess was really just a human who happened to possess special power.

'Betrayal, huh.'

No matter how much she slept, the dream wouldn't continue.

She could never figure out what Estella had hoped to accomplish by eting the demons.

'Was she intending to fight on the side of the demons?'

Joining the enemy at the end, just to get revenge.

But even so, she thought it wasn't an effective plan.

By then, Jung-woo and the others were far too strong.

'Why...'

It grew darker, her consciousness gradually fading.

anwhile, the heat in her back—hot since earlier—grew even more intense.

A strange sensation she'd often felt since the Mount Seorak incident.

Just as her consciousness was about to be engulfed by it again—

KWAANG!!

The door crashed open, and bright light spilled into the room.

Startled, she jumped up, and a familiar face ca into view.

"Were you sleeping?"

A man spoke with a nonchalant tone, as if apologizing for waking her.

Park Jung-woo. The mont she saw his face, Shin Ah-yeon's head throbbed.

「Who are you?」

It was the sa back then.

He'd smashed a wall that would never break, bringing light into a room that had only known darkness.

「Were you sleeping or sothing?」

She couldn't rember what she'd answered to that mocking tone.

"I was waiting."

Yes, that's what she'd said.

At Shin Ah-yeon's answer, Park Jung-woo's body jolted.

"... You?"

"If you'd just asked soone to open the door, it would've been fine. Why smash it down?"

As Park Jung-woo tried to reply, the old man beside him cut in.

Barack, a relatively mild-mannered great mage in this tower.

"How do you know Jung-woo oppa?"

"Don't even ask. Didn't you hear all the commotion downstairs?"

"The magic power did surge a bit, but..."

Was it really Jung-woo causing all that, she wondered, looking at him. He just smiled faintly.

"There was a bit of noise, sure."

"If you call that a bit of noise... ha."

Barack shook his head.

Beating down dozens of mages and even wrecking a great mage—calling that a "bit of noise" seed too much.

"G-Great Mage Barack, S-sir! I just got so news!"

"News? From whom?"

"F-From Odin. He said he's coming here directly."

"... Odin himself?"

Iden, who never moved unless it was to et Shin Ah-yeon.

Since forming his organization, he rarely left his room, to the point so mages had never even seen his face.

'Is Shin Ah-yeon really that important?'

Or could it be he simply couldn't overlook soone making Odin's Eye their enemy?

Either way, this wasn't going to end smoothly.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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