Episode 72. Let’s Fight Once
An unnamed small village.
Sirius and Andres were having a late breakfast at a restaurant run by a deaf old lady.
“Even though we sent a notice, is it okay not to attack the Jurkel battlefield?”
“It doesn’t matter since we’ve already taken the loot.”
The wagon parked outside was full of crates.
The Jurkel battlefield was moving the contents of the vault to another location in preparation for the attack, but Sirius and Andres intercepted them in the middle.
“Our reputation will only grow if we steal the loot without attacking directly and let the world know.”
“Ah, so you’re a phantom thief.”
“If we distribute it to the people now, we’ll become chivalrous thieves.”
Phantom thief and chivalrous thief.
Another rumor about the unidentified man in black was added.
“But still, there’s a high possibility that the executives of the Southern Branch gathered there to catch us… Wouldn’t it have been possible to attack that place and kill them all at once?”
“The Jurkel battlefield is in the middle of the city.”
Sirius said, eating bean soup.
The restaurant was shabby, but the food was good.
“If we fought the executives of the Southern Branch there, the damage to the surroundings would be too great.”
“Ah, I see.”
“It’s different from when we unilaterally attacked and left.”
If they don’t care about their surroundings and unleash powerful magic, there will be significant casualties.
That’s not what Sirius wants.
“Anyway, the Southern Branch has taken the bait we threw. They must be figuring out the situation and fuming with anger right now.”
“They must be greatly shaken psychologically.”
“To those guys who are so shaken, our next move…”
While they were having such a conversation.
The door of the restaurant opened with a creak.
“……”
A sharp-looking man entered the restaurant.
He sat down heavily on a nearby seat.
“By the way, brother.”
Sirius turned his attention back to Andres.
“Brother, are you not going to marry?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Andres made a troubled expression.
“It’s just that you haven’t married yet. Shouldn’t you be continuing the family line?”
“I think I can leave those worries to my younger brother, since he has children……”
His younger brother, David, was already married to Leticia and had two children.
In a few months, there would be three.
“Do you not wish to marry?”
“My personal wishes are not important. The family’s situation is more important.”
“Was the situation not right up until now?”
“Political marriages are not easy. There aren’t many cases where the conditions of both sides match up perfectly.”
Andres made a bitter expression.
“It might be easier to marry someone you love.”
“Then why don’t you just find someone you love and marry them?”
“There hasn’t been anyone like that up until now.”
“You’ve never had a first love?”
“That’s……no, wait. Why are we having this conversation in the middle of the day?”
“So we should talk about it in the middle of the night?”
“This isn’t something to talk about when you’re sober. If you really want to talk about it right now, then you go first.”
“Let’s talk about something else.”
A man sitting nearby let out a snicker.
“My apologies. I couldn’t help but overhear.”
“It’s no problem.”
Sirius responded gently.
The man asked a question.
“It seems like the red-haired gentleman isn’t married yet, but are you married?”
“I got married a few months ago.”
“Then you’re still newlyweds. That’s nice.”
“What about you, sir?”
“Oh, I’ve never even had a proper relationship at this age.”
The man shrugged as he said this.
“I’m not good-looking like you, so I wasn’t popular with women.”
The man wasn’t ugly, but his eyes were very sharp.
He had the kind of face that some people might find frightening.
“Even when I did get involved with a woman, they were all wicked witches. I avoid those kinds of women.”
“The women probably thought the same thing when they saw you.”
“hahahaha, your words pierce my heart like a needle.”
The man laughed, looking like he’d been stabbed.
“But why do you call me ‘sir’? I don’t think there’s that much of an age difference between us.”
“Aren’t you more than twice our age, in reality?”
“……”
The man closed his mouth.
“Why do you look so young?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t want to look young?”
“My question was inappropriate. Do you have some great purpose?”
“Great purpose?”
“Are you trying to secure time to reach a higher realm?”
“……”
The man closed his mouth again.
“There was a wizard in the East who studied necromancy. He extended his life to the point where he became nothing more than a corpse. I think he wanted to become a lich or something like that.”
“……”
“You don’t seem that desperate, elder. It seems you’re just slowing down your aging without going against the natural order.”
Recalling the memories of Cheonrangmuje Baek Murang… things like that were often seen in the martial world.
So, it could be considered within the acceptable range.
“What do you think? Is your progress in exploring the higher realms going well?”
“Well, that’s…”
The man trailed off his words and shook his head.
“My, talking to you is making me forget why I came here.”
“Didn’t you come in to eat?”
“I was going to eat, but the owner isn’t taking orders.”
“He probably doesn’t know you’re here because his hearing is bad.”
The man stuck his head out to look into the kitchen.
After checking the face of the old man who was dozing off, he nodded.
“I guess it can’t be helped.”
“Should I call him?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Saying that, the man let out a long sigh.
Then, he suddenly asked.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I’ve heard some rumors.”
Sirius recalled what Berdian had said.
“There are two people to watch out for in the southern branch of the Alliance, the current and former branch leaders.”
“……”
“But it seemed like the retired former branch leader was the more dangerous one. His name was… what was it?”
Sirius had already figured out who this man was.
He had been sensing the enormous magical power approaching the restaurant.
“Hwanwang (Illusion King).”
The man said in a flat voice.
“That’s my name. I’ve forgotten my real name.”
Huan Wang.
As the name suggests, he is an existence equal in status to the Poison King.
However, unlike the Poison King, he has no faction or subordinates.
He is an eccentric who refused the Alliance Headquarters’ order to return and has been holed up alone in the southern region.
This man was such a maverick that even the Alliance had given up on him.
“I came to capture you all at the request of your current branch manager.”
“Are you on good terms with the current branch manager?”
“Whenever they have a problem that they can’t solve on their own, they come to me and ask for my help. Of course, it’s not free. I receive a reward.”
“I suppose you’ll get a share if you capture us.”
“Yes, but… it’s a bit of a shame.”
Huan Wang said, stroking his chin.
“Do you have no intention of surrendering?”
“Are you telling me to surrender to the Southern Branch?”
“No, I’m telling you to surrender to me. It’s a waste to hand you over to the branch manager.”
Huan Wang’s voice was relaxed.
“After I stepped down as the Southern Branch Manager, I didn’t have a single subordinate. I’ve always disliked moving in groups.”
“But suddenly you need a subordinate?”
“To be precise, I need an assistant, not a subordinate.”
As he said that, Huan Wang clasped his hands together.
“My goal is to reach the 10th Circle.”
“Isn’t the 9th Circle the highest?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m pursuing a realm beyond the highest.”
“……”
“I’m not the only one. Yeomje too, and the others… We’re all looking for a way to reach the 10th Circle. Probably even the 9th Circle masters of the continent’s five great clans are secretly researching it.”
A realm that no one has ever reached before, the 10th Circle.
That was the goal that Huan Wang, who had refused the Alliance Headquarters’ orders and stayed in the south, had been researching all along.
“But I’m starting to feel my limits doing it alone. I need someone to help me… and you guys seem like a good fit.”
“Well, what a remarkable coincidence.”
“What?”
“Actually, I’ve been looking for a realm beyond the highest as well.”
Huan Wang’s eyes widened.
Andres, who was sitting across from Sirius, also looked surprised.
“You’re after the 10th Circle…?”
Of course, what Sirius is after is not the 10th Circle.
His goal is to surpass the profound realm reached by Baek Moo-rang, the unrivaled warrior, and reach the legendary ‘Mythical Realm’.
In particular, Sirius thinks that he might be able to find clues to the Mythical Realm in ‘magic’, which does not exist in the martial world.
That’s why he’s trying to fight various magicians.
“Lord Huan Wang, what do you think of this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t we both looking for someone to help us? So let’s do it this way. It would be fair.”
Sirius calmly said to the bewildered Hwanwang.
“Let’s fight.”
“What?”
“If you win, I’ll become your subordinate. If I win, you become mine.”
“…….”
There was a brief silence.
“You’re crazy.”
“We haven’t known each other long, yet you’re already cursing me? I’m hurt.”
“…….”
Hwanwang opened his mouth before Sirius, who responded with a brazen expression.
Eventually, Hwanwang asked Andres, who had been watching from the side.
“Is he always like this?”
“He’s a bit…… yes, he is.”
Andres replied with a voice filled with complex emotions.
“He’s absurd. How can someone like this…….”
“If you don’t like it, let’s stop.”
Sirius said in a flat voice.
“Rather than becoming someone’s subordinate, I’d rather die…… If that’s your personality, I can’t help it.”
“…….”
A remark that suggested he was certain of his victory.
It was a provocation that grated on Hwanwang’s nerves.
“What about you?”
Hwanwang asked, not backing down.
“If you lose to me, will you obediently become my subordinate?”
“Why would that be difficult?”
Sirius said with an unruffled expression.
“But if I do become your subordinate, I’ll tell you something every day.”
“Something?”
“I’ll ask why you live like that.”
“…….”
Hwanwang fell silent for a moment.
Then he let out a long sigh.
“Whew…….”
With an expression that seemed to resign himself to everything, he shook his head and muttered shortly.
“Fine.”
That moment.
The surrounding space began to shake.
“If I make you my subordinate, I’ll sew your mouth shut so you can’t talk back anymore.”
“This is……!”
Andres was startled and got up from his seat, but it was already too late.
Up until now, everyone had been in a shabby restaurant.
But the scenery around them suddenly changed.
“Sirius, this is Unique Magic! And it’s… a type of Illusion!”
Unique Magic.
It refers to an original magic system created by a specific wizard, not a universal magic known to the world.
Ordinary wizards can’t create Unique Magic.
Being able to use Unique Magic means… that the wizard has reached the 9th Circle and is a ‘Grand Magus’.
“Don’t think that it’s funny just because it’s an illusion.”
Crimson lava was flowing everywhere, and volcanoes were erupting one after another, creating loud noises and smoke.
It was as if they had fallen into the middle of a volcanic zone that resembled hell.
“If you die from being burned here, you’ll also die from being burned in reality.”
Along with the voice of the 9th Circle Grand Magus, a massive amount of lava poured down.