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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 124 The Culprit Is...
Fireworks erupted as the frozen air flashed white.
In that instant, everything changed.
"..."
The expression on the External Affairs Manager's face, standing amidst the shattered audience seats, was beyond dumbfounded.
Debris was scattered everywhere, and flames flickered here and there.
Wheeing—
An earsplitting alarm rang out.
The magic barrier around the arena flickered precariously red.
A red magic barrier meant it had reached its limit.
A little later, and the entire audience would have been annihilated.
Even though the External Affairs Manager was a layman in magic, he knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Azure Dragon Division Grandmaster, what just happened?"
"..."
"Special Task Force Commander."
"...I'm looking into it."
What the External Affairs Manager failed to grasp was that the actual mages were far more shocked than he could have imagined.
The Special Task Force Commander widened his eyes, trying to understand the situation, but even he couldn't fully comprehend what had transpired.
All he knew was that an immense mana fluctuation had emanated from Elder Parin, followed by a flash of light, and then the current situation unfolded.
'What in the...'
Circumstantially, it was highly likely that the Samael brat was responsible.
Elder Parin wouldn't have withdrawn his magic himself.
But how?
The Special Task Force Commander couldn't believe it.
This was a shock incomparable to when Young Master Libre was defeated.
Elder Parin was a 6-star mage.
Excluding the Tower Heads and Vice Tower Heads of each Magic Tower, he was one of the strongest mages around.
For that Samael brat to block a magic attack that a high-ranking mage like him had unleashed with all his might?
'Impossible.'
Meanwhile, the External Affairs Manager, watching the scene, couldn't shake off the growing anxiety.
No one around him seemed to grasp the situation properly.
Not even the Special Task Force Commander.
A strange fervor was rising among the audience.
A quiet but shocking atmosphere, filled with burgeoning aspiration.
There was no need to say who was at the center of this atmosphere. It was obvious.
"No."
The External Affairs Manager unconsciously revealed his true feelings.
He was anxious.
The anxiety tightening around his heart was growing.
'This is a nightmare. A nightmare.'
The plan he thought was perfect was falling apart.
Everything was going beyond his expectations.
Even though the External Affairs Manager didn't know everything, he knew how much effort the Lord had put into this matter.
"Lord..."
Balkan's hand trembled as he clenched his fist.
"Lord..."
"..."
This wasn't the usual dignified Balkan.
He was far too agitated to be simply described as having lost his composure.
"Lord!"
"Ahem."
"Many eyes are watching."
Only then did Balkan clear his throat and calm his expression.
However, his pounding heart refused to settle down.
Others may not have known, but Balkan did.
Only Balkan clearly recognized the true nature of the magic Elder Parin had unleashed.
6-star.
Death of Ice.
That magic which invoked the fear of death with its mere presence.
How was he supposed to accept the fact that the Samael kid had blocked it?
'So it has come to this.'
After observing the arena for a long time, Balkan made up his mind.
Whatever the reason...
He couldn't let things proceed as they were.
The plan couldn't possibly fail, but unexpected situations had unfolded one after another.
"Lord, you must take control of the situation. Pull yourself together."
"Yes, I must pull myself together."
Balkan nodded at the External Affairs Manager's advice.
He had to pull himself together.
Even if there were casualties, he had to see this through to the end here.
He couldn't afford to provoke any more anger.
* * *
"Pull myself together?"
Seeing that Parin was still out of sorts, I asked,
"How long are you going to stay like that?"
"..."
"Answer me."
Since he didn't answer, I looked up at the sky for a moment.
The weather had suddenly cleared up, so I felt pretty good.
The magic barrier was blocking the wind and rain pouring from the sky.
Why couldn't it have been like this from the start?
"...No. This can't be happening."
I looked straight ahead at the sudden sound of Parin's voice.
Parin was shaking his head and muttering something.
"...It was an incantation I've never heard before."
"He's still out of it."
His flowing white hair was now scorched black and disheveled, and his neat robe was completely torn and tattered.
His monocle was cracked and on the verge of shattering.
But the ugliest thing by far was his expression.
"How is that even possible?"
Elder Parin, recalling what had just happened, continued to frown.
He seemed unable to comprehend it.
"What incantation was that just now?"
"Fireworks."
"I've never heard of it."
I clapped at Parin.
"As expected of your title, you're truly arrogant. Is it a problem if you haven't heard of it?"
Despite my mockery, Parin replied seriously without changing his expression.
"I've read more magic books than anyone. However, that incantation wasn't in any of the ancient texts I've seen."
"Actually, I made it up."
Parin suddenly asked,
"How old are you this year?"
"I'm over three hundred years old."
"Amazing."
"Oh, you believe me?"
"It was an amazing incantation. It was truly dangerous."
I watched Parin's behavior for a while, amused.
From the beginning until now, he hadn't lost his composure.
I asked Parin,
"Dangerous?"
"Of course. I almost suffered serious internal injuries."
"You seem quite relaxed for someone who almost got seriously hurt."
"That's what happens when you reach this age. More importantly, you didn't intend to see it through to the end, did you? I know you held back your power at the last moment."
Elder Parin looked at the audience.
In the silent audience, the monkeys were all staring intently at me.
Parin gave a hollow laugh and said,
"Further fighting would be meaningless. If you wish, I will mediate between Urgon and Samael. Truly impressive. Let's end it here."
Like a carp biting a bait, I said to Parin,
"So who won?"
"Let's call it a draw. It won't be bad for you. The fame of having fought an equal match with this Blue Flame is not easily earned."
"I see."
Parin asked me,
"Do you have anything more to say?"
I casually threw out a question,
"You could have blocked it, couldn't you?"
It was a simple question, but Parin suddenly stared intently at me.
Life returned to Parin's eyes.
"What do you mean by that, Ruin Samael?"
"What would have happened if I had gone all out?"
"Didn't I say? I would have been injured."
This time, Parin casually threw out a question,
"So, have you confirmed it?"
"Of course."
"And?"
"It was chilling."
The waves on the lake were calm now.
We looked at each other like anglers casting bait and waiting.
In this case, the one who hides their hand and catches the opponent's is usually the winner.
In my view, Elder Parin was indeed a skilled angler.
But no matter how clever Parin was, he couldn't know my hand.
I was the winner of this fight.
"Old man."
"..."
"You're the culprit."
I turned my head and looked at the audience.
The audience was still silent.
Everyone was staring, waiting for my words.
I said to the audience in a loud voice,
"People of our Quebek region."
As if waiting for this moment, all eyes focused on me.
"I have just confirmed one fact. I had my suspicions, but it has become clear that someone deliberately targeted our Samael at this Urgon banquet."
Perceptive people would have noticed, but I was actually saying the same thing as before.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was that everyone was listening to my words as if they were hearing them for the first time.
The same words carry different weight depending on who speaks them.
My words now had power.
"This was also an attack on the Death Sword Guild. They tried to kill the Guild's soldier and frame our Samael for the crime."
"..."
"Hmm, no questions?"
Blair shouted from the audience as if he were a stranger.
"How is that even possible!"
I nodded and said,
"Poison."
"Poison?"
"That's right. It was a scheme using poison."
Surprisingly, this time Arin chimed in.
"That's ridiculous. You said it wasn't poisoning. Don't you remember what you said?"
It was a slightly strange interjection, but I nodded.
"It's not an ordinary poison. At first, it only causes mild cold symptoms with chills, but in reality, it leads to death within three days. There's only one poison that causes these symptoms."
"How do you know that?"
"That's how I was able to treat the soldier."
"..."
"It's a poison called Demonic Bloom. You probably haven't heard of it."
Then I looked at Elder Parin.
"Another characteristic of Demonic Bloom is that it inevitably leaves traces on the user. That's what I meant when I said I confirmed it."
The audience murmured as they grasped my meaning, and Elder Parin shook his head and looked at me.
"Think carefully. You're making a grave misunderstanding."
"Amazing expression management. You're really something, old man."
"You will be held accountable for your words."
I pointed at Elder Parin, then looked around the audience and then at the high-ranking seats.
"There's only one conclusion."
Even now, Parin was suppressing his expression like a restrained angler.
But I already knew that this was the expression of someone on the verge of victory.
"The culprit behind all this is..."
And as I said.
I had no intention of losing this fight.
"Lord Balkan, it was you."
I met Elder Parin's eyes.
I didn't take the bait, but Parin did.
I was the victor.
* * *
"Silence!"
The Special Task Force Commander and the Azure Dragon Division Grandmaster, who had jumped up from the high-ranking seats, tried to control the atmosphere by emanating their energy.
"How dare you utter such nonsense to the Lord!"
Then Balkan pointed at me.
"So you want to see this through to the end, Ruin Samael."
With a single leap, I landed in front of the high-ranking seats.
The surrounding spectators retreated like an ebb tide, and I approached Balkan, saying,
"Whether this goes to the end or not isn't my decision. It's simple. If you're innocent, just clear your name. Let me check your wrist. I can tell in 10 seconds. How about it? I'm giving you a chance to prove your innocence."
Balkan rebuked me with a stern face.
"Nonsense. You're really pushing this to the end, aren't you? All mages of Urgon, listen!"
"You seem quite anxious."
"What?"
"Your eyes are anxious. Different from usual. Why are you in such a hurry, Balkan? You seem like a man being chased. Who made you so hasty? Who is it? Elder Parin?"
"You bastard! Silence!"
Balkan shouted as he looked around.
"All mages of Urgon, listen! From now on, Samael is our enemy! Seize them!"
The mages in the high-ranking seats descended all at once and surrounded me in a fan shape.
At some point, Blair and Arin were blocking my back.
I said to them,
"It seems Taylor has gone to plan for the future."
"No."
"Then?"
At that moment, with a Whoosh— sound, a group of mages descended into the audience seats. They were Urgon's subordinates who had been outside the arena.
Now that I looked, there were quite a few of them.
"Quite a crowd."
The mages swiftly equipped their weapons.
With their formation in place, the Special Task Force Commander stepped forward and said,
"Are you confident in facing all of us?"
"To be honest, no."
"So you finally confess your true feelings."
I extended my palm and aimed it at the Special Task Force Commander's head.
"Bang!"
"What?"
"Whether I'm confident or not, you're going to die. You must have seen me fight Elder Parin just now. I can take at least half of you bastards to your deaths. You'll be the first."
As soon as I opened my mana circles and raised my energy, the mages scattered and took their positions.
"What a bunch of idiots."
What made them truly idiotic was that they had positioned themselves among the spectators.
It was clearly intentional.
Their plan was to use the collateral damage from my magic on the audience as an excuse to drive me out.
The Special Task Force Commander shouted with a stern face,
"From now on, we, Urgon, will take control of the situation. Everyone, stay where you..."
Suddenly, I rubbed my eyes, and blood appeared on my fingers.
I must have gotten a cut on my eye. My vision was slightly red-tinted.
I couldn't tell at that moment whether this was due to madness or not.
I raised my finger and pointed it at the Special Task Force Commander.
The Special Task Force Commander cunningly pushed a spectator's shoulder, using them as a shield.
I grinned, baring my teeth.
"You're worse than a third-rate thug, Special Task Force Commander."
"Don't move."
"I told you, you're first."
"Shut up! Urgon will control the..."
The moment I snapped my fingers, the Special Task Force Commander ducked with lightning speed.
At the same time, something shot out from somewhere like a ray of light, piercing through the Special Task Force Commander's left shoulder.
"Ugh!"
Fwoosh—
The sound of something tearing through the air reached us belatedly.
I slowly turned my head and looked towards the source of the sound.
Someone's energy was slowly rising.
"That's going to be a bit of a problem."
The Special Task Force Commander shouted with bloodshot eyes,
"What is the meaning of this! Is the Death Sword Guild making an enemy of Urgon...? Ugh!"
Once again, something like a ray of light pierced through the Special Task Force Commander's right shoulder.
He couldn't even react.
Astonished gazes converged on a single point.
Balkan, who was in the high-ranking seats, looked at the forgotten figure with trembling eyes.
"The Death Sword Guild has no place to interfere here."
"The Death Sword Guild?"
Loren smiled sweetly and trailed off, and Balkan looked at her once again with a surprised expression.
"Do you intend to reveal it? You have no authority to..."
"You overstep your bounds, Balkan."
Loren declared,
"From now on, Ardehain will control this place."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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