-Collaborative Work
“Have you come to take down the strange life-form?”
“Why are you only showing up now?”
“There are rumors going around about you, Mage Oudin. Do you have anything to say about them?”
“Is it true that you personally carried out the terror attack to raise your fame and your price?”
“Are you a black mage?”
“Was the giant amoeba mass terror attack also your doing, Mage Oudin?”
Questions poured in from the reporters surrounding me.
As expected, there were far more questions that sounded like blatant accusations than anything favorable.
I waited for a moment.
The instant the name Oudin was called, people crowded around in no time. They were onlookers. Murmurs spread in every direction.
Only then did I raise one hand to quiet the reporters and open my mouth.
“I’ll answer in order. First, the question of whether I’m a black mage. What an ominous thing to say. Of course I am not a black mage. I tried to raise my price and secure a position? As all of you know, I did not even attend the World Tournament.”
“Then where have you been all this time?”
“Didn’t you join hands with Yasin and carry out the terror attack?”
The reporters, still unable to let go of their conspiracy theories, continued asking questions.
I looked straight at them. At that, they flinched and shut their mouths.
“I took down the swarm of jellyfish in Daejeon. You all saw that, didn’t you? After that, I went to North Chungcheong Province. There was a strange life-form in Chungjuho, so I carried out purification work, and in Jecheon I also fought a black mage named Nasan Haegyeong. I reported all of this to the Hall, so why is the Hall leaving the rumors alone instead of revealing the truth?”
When I turned the arrow of suspicion toward the Magic Hall, the reporters suddenly clammed up as though they had swallowed honey.
As expected, it seemed the reporters were in league with the government and the Hall as well.
That was why, if I wanted to reveal the truth, there was no choice but to stand before the people and show it live.
“Have you heard about the crustal disturbance that occurred at the foot of Sobaeksan? I was at the scene yesterday. At that exact same time, the giant amoeba mass appeared here in Seoul. I heard the news late and have only just come up to Seoul.”
As I spoke, I held up my bus ticket and showed it to them.
An express bus ticket from Danyang to Seoul. It was flimsy, but it was solid proof.
I saw the cameras zooming in to film the bus ticket.
“I have been busy dealing with black mage terror attacks, while it seems some people have been busy framing me. What fault is there in the citizens who believed the rumors?
“But today, I will show you clearly. From now on, I will take down the amoeba mass. And right here at the scene, I will show you the black mage who carried out this terror attack. Please pay attention.”
“Are you saying the black mage is here?”
“How will you show us?”
The reporters began pouring out questions again, but I had already said everything I needed to say, so I turned and left.
The exchange with the reporters had only been a prelude to draw attention. The show began now.
Now then, I’ve scattered the cookie crumbs, so hurry up and follow me.
Of course, there were no reporters brave enough to follow me inside the control line, but the cameras could follow me with their zooms as much as they liked.
There were many large displays at the Samseong Station intersection. My image was being shown on those displays in real time. They had all thrown aside their advertisements and were broadcasting the live scene.
I stepped inside the control line and approached the mages.
In the distance, I could see Han Dosu, and Thor and Loki as well.
It seemed not only the mages of the Hall and the government, but even the foreign mages attending the World Tournament had all been mobilized.
And yet, right now, all of them seemed to have completely forgotten about taking down the target and were only looking at me.
Then the giant amoeba mass began to heave violently.
The form that had risen high like a tower collapsed, flowing downward in a thick slide before spreading wide in every direction.
“The mass moved!”
“Everyone, stay alert!”
“Fall back!”
“Prepare for an attack!”
Startled, the mages turned toward the amoeba mass and went on guard.
But they did not rush to attack. They were relying on the barrier.
The amoeba mass moved far faster than the mages.
The amoebas stretched out in an instant and slapped against the invisible barrier like plastic bags stuck to a window.
The mages murmured and stepped back.
“Dodge!”
“It’s fine, there’s a barrier!”
“Prepare to attack!”
However, the mages who had trusted in the barrier began to be attacked before they could even attempt to strike.
Suddenly, one part of the barrier tore with a sharp whoosh. Then, like a collapsing embankment, the barrier burst apart in a chain reaction.
The amoebas that had escaped beyond the barrier immediately shot toxic substances in every direction.
“The barrier’s been breached!”
“Attack all at once!”
“Put up a blockade!”
“Aaagh! The toxic substance is…”
Each of the mages immediately defended themselves and began attacking.
But several mages who had been near the barrier were already collapsing after coming into contact with the giant amoeba’s toxic substance.
‘Damn it! I didn’t think the barrier would be that flimsy.’
I quickly pushed through the panicking mages and activated freezing magic.
‘Freeze the toxic substance!’
I had already drawn up my mana in advance, and I had also gathered the magic circuits drifting around the scene, so it was not that difficult to cast a spell that targeted only the amoeba’s toxic substance and froze it.
I swung both hands wide, encompassing the entire amoeba mass as I sent out waves of mana.
The flame magic, defensive magic, and blockades cast by the other mages were drifting chaotically through the surroundings.
Through them, the blue energy of freezing extended from my fingertips, forcing its way forward like a whirlwind and capturing the toxic substances the amoeba had spat out.
Into the air, onto the surface of the road, through the gaps in the torn barrier, among the people—the toxic substance that had been scattering like spores was trapped inside a bluish film of ice.
Absolute freezing, which would not burn in flame, would not split under lightning, and would not burst from kinetic force, wrapped around the toxic substance and dismantled its magic circuits.
“Uh, it froze!”
“It’s Oudin! It’s Oudin’s freezing magic.”
“The toxic substance isn’t spreading anymore. We’re safe now!”
“Continue attacking the amoebas!”
The mages, finally able to breathe, reorganized their formation.
There were mages who looked back at me in gratitude for my freezing magic, but they did not have that much leisure.
The toxic substance had lost its effect, but the amoebas continued to escape beyond the barrier and reach toward the people.
It was urgent to form the blockade again.
I left that task to the other mages and headed toward Yu Jaeseon.
It was time to move on to the next stage.
In truth, the reason the giant amoeba mass had suddenly begun to move was because I had provoked it.
While speaking in front of the reporters, I had secretly sent waves of mana toward the giant amoeba mass.
My goal had been to use the amoebas’ nature of instinctively counterattacking when provoked to draw out the black mage controlling them.
I simply had not expected the barrier to tear apart so easily. That had not been part of my calculations.
In any case, now it was time to move on to the next stage and reveal the black mage before people’s eyes.
I glanced up at the large displays. Even now, the cameras were following closely behind me, continuing to film.
What came next was important.
The reason I had gathered people’s attention and made every scene broadcast live was precisely for the next moment.
“Mage Oudin!”
When I approached, Yu Jaeseon called to me with a delighted expression.
I stepped right up to him and skipped the greeting, immediately asking the necessary question in a low voice.
“Have you identified the magic circuit controlling the amoeba mass?”
“I’m analyzing it now. I was briefly flustered when the amoebas pierced through the barrier and came outside, but thanks to that, I can see the magic circuit more clearly.”
As I expected, Yu Jaeseon was immersed in analysis, having deployed detection magic instead of attack magic. That was the role he had taken on.
“The top floor of the Vanaheim Building.”
“What? Ah… so that was it after all.”
Yu Jaeseon immediately understood the meaning of my words. Then he added more mana to the detection magic he was casting and examined it carefully.
As he nodded, I quietly asked him again.
“Can you visualize the gray energy used in the control magic?”
“Visualize it?”
“So ordinary people can see it. If you apply color or a pattern to the circuit and make it visible…”
“Ah! It’s possible. If I use elemental magic to dye the waves, it can be done.”
Even without a long explanation, Yu Jaeseon immediately understood and gave the answer.
This was exactly the kind of cooperative work I needed.
“I’m going to attack the amoeba mass now. Then the magic circuit will become even clearer as it counterattacks. When that happens, please visualize that flow.”
“Understood.”
I gave Yu Jaeseon a short time to prepare.
In the meantime, I looked around and observed the mages’ movements. I paid particular attention to Loki’s actions.
Like the other mages, Loki was eliminating the amoebas escaping beyond the barrier with flame magic.
No. He was acting so it looked that way.
But gray energy surged around Loki.
Of course, since this was the scene where the giant amoeba mass was alive and moving, gray energy naturally overflowed everywhere.
Was that why no one suspected Loki? Were they all so focused on battle that they did not notice?
Perhaps there were some among them who knew and pretended not to.
If they had examined the flow of waves closely, there was no way they could have failed to know.
That Loki was acting as a relay.
I swept my gaze across the faces of the mages once.
It was time to carefully distinguish friend from foe.
“I’m ready. Begin the attack.”
Yu Jaeseon said.
I nodded to him, then took a step forward.
Drawing up the mana I had prepared in advance, I raised both hands high and immediately stirred my intent.
‘Rain of flame, pour down!’
I chose a rain of flame that could create a powerful visual effect. Red flames would seize people’s eyes.
The other mages were already attacking with flame magic, but this was on a different level.
Balls of fire pouring down from the sky like rain.
In order to stop a disaster, I staged a scene that resembled the end of the world.
A rain of flame that ignited only the amoebas poured down.