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The darkness rushing in from all sides vanished into thin air.
Fwoosh…
The creeping darkness riding on my back melted away in the blue flames.
[Kkaak! Kkaak!]
Suddenly, the blue flames sprouting from my shoulders transformed into a blue phoenix, circling around me protectively.
Thud, thud.
Though the temperature of Icarus’s ring rose in an instant, I paid it no mind and approached Han Se-yeon.
“You’ve caused quite a stir.”
Seeing Han Se-yeon completely consumed by Modo’s darkness, I frowned.
“After all the effort to contain the rampage.”
Han Se-yeon’s soul was overshadowed by pitch-black darkness, which I found displeasing.
The fact that the soul, which had gradually deepened through mingling with humans over the past few months, could crumble in just one moment, despite all the effort.
Thud!
I punched Han Se-yeon in the abdomen.
Her divine spirit, which had lost its balance as she tried to attack me, faltered. Seizing the opportunity, I placed my hand on her shoulder.
Woom, woom!
Icarus’s ring, pushed to its limits as it repelled the darkness, let out a scream.
“I can’t use it for a few days.”
With a cold tongue, I summoned the divine power.
In truth, it was impossible to calm down Han Se-yeon, who had only reached this level of divine power due to her rampage.
No, no one in the world could return Han Se-yeon to her original state from the rampage.
【Soul Pioneer (SS+)】
This was a task only I could perform, interfering with the soul beyond the physical realm.
Hwaaah······.
Darkness receded from Han Seyeon’s soul, once soaked in pitch-black.
【aaah······】
As the transparent soul emerged, Morudo’s scream echoed in my ears.
Though he may be a master of lordly caliber, resisting the direct impact on the soul was impossible. It was a force that acted at a more fundamental level.
As if clinging to remnants of hope, I vigorously kicked the form of the ‘Black Child,’ who stubbornly held onto Han Seyeon’s ankle.
“Disappear.”
Struck by the force of the soul, Morudo was repelled from Han Seyeon’s soul.
And in accordance with the contract’s constraints, he was summoned back to the other side of dimensions.
I caught the collapsing Han Seyeon, who had escaped the darkness, in my arms.
Softly······
As I held the unconscious Han Seyeon, my expression hardened as I surveyed the surroundings.
Unbeknownst to me, operatives had gathered around.
Given that such a strong magical presence was detected not even at the center but the outskirts of the field, it was natural for operatives to converge.
‘This is a mess.’
I grimaced with a sense of impending doom. With magic detected, these operatives from the Academy couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
Yet, having witnessed Han Seyeon’s rampage, I couldn’t simply let them go. But neither could I just kill them all.
While contemplating my next move, a middle-aged man who seemed like a captain stepped forward.
“Yi Haesol, would you kindly step back and release her?”
“I refuse.”
“I understand your intention to protect a fellow student, but as you can see, she is a Mine. You should know that as an Academy student.”
The operatives were in a situation where they couldn’t accurately determine if Han Seyeon was a Mine or not.
Understandable, as the concept of a contracted user was non-existent in this world.
Merely emitting magic, it was natural for them to mistake her for a Mine.
And through this conversation, I made up my mind.
The middle-aged man’s determination to handle Han Seyeon, whether she was a Mine or not, was unmistakably clear.
This couldn’t be resolved through dialogue.
“Sigh.”
Exhaling deeply, I gently laid the sleeping Han Seyeon on the ground.
Interpreting my actions as an attempt to hand her over, the middle-aged man made a gesture, and as the two operatives approached Han Seyeon.
Sizzle!
“Ah!”
“Ugh!”
The approaching operatives recoiled in surprise.
A blue flame rose, separating them from Han Seyeon.
“A blue flame?”
The middle-aged man, Field Commander An Hocheol, wore a startled expression at the sight of a color of flame he had never seen before in all his knowledge of Eternity’s abilities.
The blue flames, with no source of ignition in sight, not only failed to extinguish but completely surrounded and blocked Han Seyun.
This was an ability unheard of.
No, in fact, the current situation was entirely incomprehensible to him from start to finish.
To suddenly be surprised by the presence of an unexpected mage, emitting an unimaginable vast magic power, a Named-grade magician, and a Sangdo handling it lightly? Moreover, that Sangdo was a celebrity featured on the front page of the global daily ‘The World’ just a few hours ago.
Up to this point, one could applaud the birth of a hero, but that celebrity had already dealt with the Named-grade magician on his own and was now trying to protect the magician instead.
An Hocheol had no idea what was happening. However, at least he knew one thing.
“Jaden! Request reinforcement from the main base; this calls for the Special Forces.”
“Understood!”
Jaden, the communication soldier who received the order, nodded as he listened in on the radio.
He, too, shared An Hocheol’s thoughts.
“Urgh!”
“Ugh!”
The soldiers entwined in flames were collapsing in an instant.
This was a situation they couldn’t handle among themselves.
However, Jaden never made the radio call.
“Stop.”
A slender hand was stopping his hand holding the radio. When Jaden turned his head along with the hand, his eyes widened.
“You…”
A blonde girl in medieval noble attire was flashing red eyes.
One of the founding members of the Eternity Academy, now the sole individual left in the academy.
“Drop that.”
“Yes, yes.”
At Noah Maxwell’s words, Jaden hesitantly put down the radio.
“Hmm.”
Noah gazed at the sky with a faint longing look, watching a blue bird fly.
“A phoenix, long time no see.”
Eventually, her gaze shifted to Heaesol and the collapsed Han Seyun.
Interest sparked in her crimson eyes.
***
‘A squad.’
Having isolated Han Seyun from the agents, I carefully scanned them.
There were a total of 10 agents in the field. If they had understood the situation correctly, only these few would not have come.
Meaning, the situation had not been properly understood yet.
That meant there was still an opportunity.
If I handled them well, I could perhaps question them about the incident.
Fortunately, the field agents were not particularly strong. Their power was only effective within the norms of the superhuman society.
Their role was simply to buy time until the real power of Eternity, the Special Forces, arrived. Hence, the key was how to deal with them quickly.
And the best way to deal with them swiftly was to utilize ‘physical acceleration.’
However, the time I could use for physical acceleration at once was extremely short.
‘3 seconds.’
Anything beyond this puts a strain on the body. Even if used repeatedly, the maximum is four times. At this level, quick processing was impossible.
[Taking a red pill (Fire of Fever).]
I took out a red pill from my pocket and swallowed it. Instantly, vigor rushed through my body and the status bar refreshed.
[Stamina: 4 → 8]
[Duration: 09:59]
“First, let’s subdue them.”
Killing the agents right away was burdensome even for me. There was no guarantee I could evade the Academy’s pursuit. But with Han Seul’s help, it could be resolved. In Eternity, there existed potions that could partially erase memories as well.
Thud!
With my decision made, I swiftly struck the ground towards the agents who were perplexed by the flames.
【Physical Acceleration】
As time slowed down and I reached the agents moving as if submerged in water, the time accelerated.
“······!”
The stunned agents who tried to shoot at my sudden appearance were already too late.
Pwoosh! Puck!
It was after Gram’s dagger pierced the bodies of two people.
Following, three people who rushed with swords became the consecutive prey of the dagger.
Having swiftly dealt with five individuals, I attempted to use acceleration again but abruptly stopped in my tracks.
“Don’t move!”
Four agents aimed their guns at me, but I paid no attention.
My gaze was fixed beyond them.
There, an unexpected figure had appeared.
Noah Maxwell.
An existence outside the norm even in the Eternity universe. With her presence, any further fight was meaningless.
“What’s going on here?”
“Isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to be surprised?”
“I’ve been plenty surprised.”
Not surprised enough, as I hadn’t even thought to dodge the bullet grazing my wrist.
Whizz!
Blue flames erupted where flesh was torn, and in an instant, new skin formed.
However, after the initial surprise, I remained unfazed.
That was because I didn’t sense any particular hostility from Noah.
No. On the contrary, her soul seemed to radiate a bright white light.
‘A friendly signal.’
That was a ‘favor.’
Sensing that the situation had been resolved, I let go of my tension. Noah, observing my reaction, wore an intrigued expression.
“Do you possess the ability to distinguish enemies? Interesting.”
Suddenly, she shouted.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
“······?”
As everyone’s gaze focused on her, Noah snapped her fingers.
Thud!
In an instant, a wave of white magic swept through the area. And then.
Thud, thud…
All of the Field agents lost consciousness and collapsed.
“What happened?”
“They’ve all had their memories wiped.”
“… “
Noah’s casual remark left me momentarily speechless.
To erase a person’s memory with just a snap of a finger.
‘This isn’t some Deus Ex Machina…’
As I was pondering this, Noah pointed somewhere and spoke.
“What should we do with that one? I could kill them if you want.”
Like offering to mend a child’s broken toy, Noah’s nonchalant words caused Kim Dojun, the one being pointed at, to turn pale.
Turning away from Noah’s words, it seemed Kim Dojun managed to remain conscious and unharmed.
I glanced at Kim Dojun briefly before shaking my head.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Well, let’s just leave them be.”
Kim Dojun’s soul was now completely ‘grey’ upon Noah’s arrival.
He was not just devoid of enthusiasm but consumed by fear. The memories now etched in Kim Dojun’s mind would likely remain a lifelong trauma.
Even if left alone, he posed no threat anymore.
‘I might be able to use him later.’
It was too precious to kill now. But there would have to be a price paid before that.
Seemingly uninterested in my decision to leave him be, Noah quickly shifted his focus away from Kim Dojun.
“By the way, aren’t you curious?”
“About what?”
“Why I’m letting you and that kid live.”
“… “
I felt a significant disconnect in Noah’s words. It was because he regarded ‘death’ so lightly.
‘Well, given his past from the 19th century to the mid-20th century, it’s no surprise he views death so casually.’
There was bound to be a difference in perspective between someone like Noah and myself, a person of the 21st century.
Regardless, I knew the answer to Noah’s question.
“Because I can control them, isn’t that why?”
“Hmm. Interesting. Why do you think that way?”
“If it’s just you, Han Seyeon, and me, we could be useful in the fight against the Mine.”
“Well, not exactly, but you’re close.”
Noah chuckled at my response as if finding it amusing.
Unlike the people of today who completely reject the Mine, she didn’t care whether the power she could use was Mine or Ma.
And Noah believed I could become Han Seyeon’s sword.
If I were to go on a rampage, I’d be useless, but if I could control myself, it could be a ‘good hand’ for Noah.
However, this was not a weapon prepared for a battle against the Mine. It was a weapon prepared for the imminent apocalypse.
“If there were more people who could move, that would be nice. My body isn’t what it used to be either.”
“Ah, my back…” Noah muttered, rubbing his lower back.
“I need some proper help to take a break too.”
“…”
Noah said it jokingly, but I knew well that it wasn’t a joke.
It meant that she was willing to do whatever it takes to raise people.
It was because Noah didn’t have much time left.
And with her death, the door to destruction would open.
“If it’s been 70 years, it’s been a long time.”
Noah, who had been actively involved, had spent a little over 70 years at the Eternity Academy.
During those long years, there were all sorts of rumors circulating about why she didn’t leave the academy, but they were all wrong.
And I knew well why Noah didn’t leave Eternity, or more precisely, why she couldn’t move.
“Because I’m devoting my life to sealing the rifts.”
Using only her own power, Noah had sealed the dimensional rift opened by the Named-rank mine she had eradicated, the ‘Night of Annihilation,’ for 70 years.
And the place where the rift was opened was right here, at the Eternity Academy.
The fact that only chaos stones emerged from the Eternity Academy in the world, and the reason why the concentration of magic at the academy was abnormally high compared to other ley lines, were all because of that.
It was the dense magic flowing from the rift into the academy.
The gradual decrease in magical essence at the academy and the increasing concentration of magic were definitive evidence that Noah’s life was coming to an end.
This world was precariously maintained by relying on the small lid called ‘Noah.’
Only a few at the top of Eternity knew this secret.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now. It’s late, so you should go back soon too.”
Noah, who seemed nonchalant, disappeared from sight.
I looked at Kim Dojun, who was sitting as if lost in thought, and took out my smartphone.
[Hey, come quickly! Where are you!]
[I can’t pull off this stunt without you!]
“What are you doing right now?”
.
.
.
Dozens of texts were pouring in from the students.
[7:13 PM]
It had been a long time since the joint performance started. And I was responsible for the most critical part where the stunt had to be performed.
“I need to hurry.”
Looking at the darkening sky, I quickly left the field with Han Seyeon on my back.