Chapter 155

“Ikseon is, simply put, the most respected Awakened in South Korea.”

Seo Chae-rin, the ‘Mad Dog’ and an executive of the Union, explained Ikseon calmly.

There was a reason she, a native of Busan, deliberately referred to ‘South Korea’ rather than ‘Seoul.’

Even in the city of Busan, which had been desperate to undermine Seoul back then, Ikseon’s fame had spread far and wide.

“She was unbelievably strong. Back when she served as Guild Master, the ‘Wings of the Blue Sky’ was ranked number one.”

“Was she really to that extent?”

“Of course. It’s no easy feat for a small group like the Wings of the Blue Sky to maintain the top spot among large guilds backed by The Old Gods’ Wound—who own Mount Cheonsan—or the Magic Towers and religious sects.”

Small but elite.

That was the most famous phrase used to describe the Wings of the Blue Sky.

The value of a Gate lies not just in conquering it, but in its maintenance and repair.

Those who cannot handle the latter properly remain, at best, second or third-rate.

“Do you think it’s over once you occupy a Gate? Other guilds try desperately to snatch it away. But no one dared to touch what the Wings of the Blue Sky possessed.”

“Was it because Ikseon was too strong?”

“That’s one of the reasons, but… to be precise, if you touched her, you had to be prepared for retaliation from other guilds.”

Ikseon had been more active on the front lines than anyone else.

She spread her wings to protect citizens, crossed all sorts of Gates, coordinated opinions with government agencies like the Special Unit from a civilian standpoint, and even operated abroad.

Considering that most of the remaining Seven Immortals either don’t show themselves, are missing, or—like Seona or the Confinement Immortal—have limitations in exercising their abilities due to injuries or old age, her appearance was quite exceptional.

If any guild robbed a Gate owned by the Wings of the Blue Sky, they had to be prepared to be the target of focused attacks by other guilds that very day.

This was because there were one or two people in every guild, regardless of which one, who had been saved by Ikseon’s help.

“If I had to compare, you’d have to be at the level of the Saint of Salvation to even stand a chance at comparing to her stature back then.”

“Tsk, I see.”

“Why are you like that? You don’t seem very pleased?”

“It’s nothing. I just thought it was ridiculous that someone like the Saint of Salvation would compare herself to Ikseon.”

Wouldn’t a faithful and righteous Light Mage, currently emerging as a rising star, be closer to the next Ikseon than a fake saint who only knows how to spread wings?

I can even make wings with my tentacles.

While disinfecting the wound on the hand I was holding, I asked Seo Chae-rin.

“So, you’re saying that Ikseon is Yeon-hwa’s sister.”

“Strictly speaking, they aren’t blood-related, right? Yeon-hwa is a Word-Spirit user, and her [Ikseon’s] ability was different.”

“Oh? What kind of ability was it?”

“It’s information that isn’t properly known, but… from what I heard, it was called ‘Power that Transcends Limits’.”

“Limits?”

“Yes.”

Seo Chae-rin, having received the gauze used to wipe the broken nail and blood from me, sealed it in a ziplock bag and told me what she had heard about Ikseon’s ability.

“It seems she could use the feathers on the wings on her back to boost the properties or total volume of mana. It’s a sort of talisman.”

“Hmm.”

“She could imbue magic into that, allowing it to be used not just by herself but by ordinary people as well. I actually received help from it once when she came to Busan.”

“That makes it even more interesting.”

“Interesting? What is?”

“I’ve been researching something similar lately. For now, I’ve designed it in the form of a tentacle helmet that you flip over your head—would you like to see it?”

It was inspired by the experience of having them cultivate tentacles at the Magic Tower.

The Star Scar is tricky to export, so it can’t be helped, but wouldn’t it be helpful if I made tentacles imbued with mana that ordinary people could use?

Toward the day when every citizen in every household has one tentacle.

In the Red Magic Tower’s lab, tentacles were still being cultivated without rest today.

“It looks insanely gross. At the very least, why don’t you trim those thin tentacles fluttering on top of the head?”

“Oh, that is the identity of this work. I can never give that up.”

I was told the tentacle turret looked gross at first, too.

But how about now, with quite a bit of time having passed?

Since being unveiled during the Gyeongbu Line restoration work, the tentacle turret has established itself as an essential weapon for protecting Seoul.

The moving fortress, which can traverse not only rugged mountainous terrain but also sandy fields and shallow coastlines using its numerous legs, was still being called gross, but it was contributing significantly to expanding the radius of human activity.

Come to think of it, maybe it hasn’t changed much.

“Ahem, I understand for now. So, the Master of the Black Magic Tower—the Archduke of Darkness—killed Ikseon to take her power.”

“Is that what you decided to call him?”

“For convenience. From the mages’ perspective, they treat Black Mages and witches who aren’t demons as demons anyway.”

I ignored her opinion and finished wrapping the bandage with a cat drawn on it around the affected area.

With this, the first aid was finished.

When Ikseon died, there were no wings on her back.

There were only ugly marks left, as if someone had torn them off.

Guessing that when the Archduke of Darkness was preparing for resurrection, he had taken them in place of a Star Scar to reach the level of a Constellation, I heaved my sluggish body up.

Since the work was finished, I had to head back soon.

Because it had become my role to deliver Seona’s message to the mages.

“Then what about my sister?”

“Wouldn’t it be fine to leave her here? The facilities are well-equipped, and the grandmas and grandpas are all kind.”

“This is the heart of the Union.”

“Wasn’t it just a nursing hospital?”

“Why would there be a statue of Mayor Park Mak-rye at an ordinary hospital? This is the center of Busan, where the Dragon Immortal’s treaty is engraved.”

“Hey, you two.”

At that moment, No Yeon-hwa, who had been sitting in the wheelchair, spoke up.

“Why are you the ones deciding my place of residence?”

Seo Chae-rin and I ignored her words at the same time.

Both of us knew that according to No Yeon-hwa psychology, provoking her while she was angry could needlessly make the sparks fly wider.

“You’re being transparent. You mean to tell me the Special Unit—especially you, who is practically the hunting dog of Mayor Park Mak-rye—doesn’t know about this place?”

“…”

“Do you think the Union doesn’t know that you’re secretly researching the treaty every time you come here? I’m letting it slide because you’re my sister.”

“Then you can just do the same this time as well.”

I took a set of clothes from inside my robe and handed them to Seo Chae-rin.

It was the clothing No Yeon-hwa had worn to this place, after changing into her hospital gown.

It wasn’t exactly a bribe, but Seo Chae-rin, who had taken it, pushed the wheelchair as naturally as a nurse, saying, “Just this once.”

She didn’t even forget to sniff it to make sure it was really No Yeon-hwa’s.

“Then have a safe trip. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Please do. Oh, and you mustn’t do anything too harsh.”

“Quiet. Patient, please head this way so I can help you with the admission process~.”

“Hey!!”

“You must not use your ability; if mana is detected, a destructive ray will fire from the statue, you know?”

After admitting No Yeon-hwa, who was in a mentally unstable state, to the ward, I headed back to the Magic Tower where the gathering was being held.

The mages were still pondering ways to deal with the Archduke of Darkness.

When I entered the conference room, Robert asked me first.

Having worked in the Special Unit until last year, he called Seona ‘Commander-in-Chief’ out of habit.

“Did you get the Commander-in-Chief’s answer?”

“Yes, she says there is a way to defeat the Archduke of Darkness.”

“What is it?”

“It is to summon him here.”

The action of the mages naming the Master of the Black Magic Tower as an Archduke wasn’t wrong in itself.

From their perspective, they likely called him that because they didn’t want to define him as someone who dealt with magic like they did, but in reality, he was an existence no different from an Archduke.

Just as one must summon an Archduke residing in the Demon Realm through a Gate to kill them, we needed to call the Master here first to deal with him.

However, all the mages who heard my words shook their heads.

“There’s no way that’s possible.”

“We can’t create a summoning circle by offering sacrifices like those black mages do.”

“To begin with, summoning an Archduke is impossible unless they are a Familiar bound by a blood pact.”

“A contract sealed in blood is the precise compass that pinpoints the target’s location.”

As they said, summoning basically required a connection to the Archduke.

Without going too far, one could see the demons loitering in the Council, each occupying a seat to bring their respective masters into the mortal world.

The problem was that there wasn’t even a demon who served the Archduke of Darkness.

And even if one existed, there was no way they could offer hundreds of humans as sacrifices.

『Oh, of course, Captain Ha Yeri is different. If only she could be certain of pulling down Mayor Park Mak-rye, she would summon the Archduke even if it meant offering the entire city of Busan as a sacrifice.』

『I’m afraid…』

『I’m telling you, even I am afraid! She really said that.』

In fact, Ha Yeri had sent me a message saying she would prepare sacrifices if I wanted them.

To be precise, it was an offer to secretly transport death-row prisoners or dangerous criminals locked up in prison.

I understood her intention to block it with a small sacrifice, as the world might truly be in danger if the Archduke of Darkness ascended to the seat of a Constellation, but…

『My goodness, I am terribly afraid. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to get married at this rate. Who on earth would take such a scary person?』

She would definitely spend her life being nitpicked over trivial matters and beaten like a rug.

Anyway, while the methods were extreme, the direction was no different from what Seona had suggested.

Specifically, it was that she would summon the Archduke.

As mentioned above, the most important thing in that process was the presence or absence of an entity with a link to the Archduke of Darkness.

In other words, in this case, it was a black mage, not a demon.

“What?”

“Is that true?”

“Certainly… if we trace back the process by which the Master, no, the Archduke of Darkness, planned his resurrection, there is a possibility.”

“The failures of the black mages were the stepping stones upon which he gathered his power.”

“But how are we supposed to find them?”

The Black Magic Tower had already collapsed over ten years ago.

The remaining remnants had scattered, and their tracks had long since disappeared down the back alleys of history.

They were likely either clinging to demons or working in the shadows to summon another Archduke, so what could we do?

Just as a murmur of distress filled the conference room, I opened my mouth.

“And we can’t just bring in a mage from the Black Magic Tower from somewhere.”

“Actually, we can; there is one.”

“What?”

“You mean someone from the Black Magic Tower?”

“Where are they? Is there really someone who could summon him…”

“Hayan, surely you don’t mean…”

Robert tried to stop me, as if he had noticed something.

Could it be that he knew?

Well, since I had told Cheon So-baek during the recruitment test, perhaps he, who was serving as a Deputy Captain of Division 4 at the time, had also heard about my identity.

It was an open secret within the Special Unit, but it wasn’t the case here, an ivory tower of knowledge that was outside the reach of the Bureau’s protection.

“Right here.”

When I pointed to my own throat with my finger, countless mages’ mana poured out like blades in an instant.