The AI Archmage - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Grand Mage 77

Lumia was honestly a bit scared.
It would have been strange if she wasn’t.
‘The Magic Killer again?!’
Last time she’d faced something similar and thought she was going to die, and now she’d have to face it again.
Of course, it had all been discussed beforehand.
— Tower Master, I’m afraid I’ll need some help with this.
— With what?
— It’s like playing bait for the bait, really. Anyway, you just need to throw up a little bluff.
Lumia recalled that conversation and felt tears welling up inside her.
‘There was no talk of a situation like this, Sion!’
That was true.
But Sion was exactly the type of person to casually pull off something like this.
And having come this far, she couldn’t very well whine that she’d never agreed to this…….
“Stop your pointless resistance. Otherwise I’ll have no choice but to use force as well.”
She deliberately put on the dignity of the Blue Tower Master, slowly beginning to raise her mana…….
‘……Huh?’
Lumia, who had been quietly observing the situation, froze in place.
The mana… wasn’t moving.
“Ah, so your mana won’t move?”
Then the middle-aged man spoke.
“Of course it won’t. I’m holding the twelfth blade of the black Magic Killer right now — Aldebaran!”
“…….”
Lumia’s mind began to race.
First, in the worst-case scenario, there’s no way Sion wouldn’t intervene.
Before, even with the Magic Killer and all, Sion had cast magic without issue.
But this was a matter of pride.
This was the Blue Tower, and its owner was, after all, herself.
If she showed panic here, it would be utterly humiliating.
Therefore.
“What are you saying?”
Lumia spoke with deliberate composure.
“The Magic Killer… certainly, it’s an impressive weapon. But I’ve known about something like that for quite some time.”
She had known.
She just hadn’t realized its performance was good enough to suppress even her own 6th Circle mana.
‘Wait, come to think of it, when that Illusion Magic dissolved, my mana was a bit unstable then too.’
Had that been a sign of what was to come.
Lumia nodded, grasping the realization a moment too late.
At least she’d learned something from this.
Sion still showed no signs of intervening. Even though an intruder had already given him the justification to act by threatening the Magic Tower Master, he remained quietly watching the situation.
What did that mean?
It meant Sion wanted something from Lumia. She began to consider what that might be.
And in that moment, she understood.
‘Ah.’
The Secret Magic that Sion had been continuously teaching her — the technique of her Master.
The technique that might truly make her the real master of the Blue Tower — she still couldn’t use it.
It was inconceivable that Sion hadn’t anticipated this situation.
Even if he hadn’t foreseen it, there was only one reason he remained uninvolved until now.
He believed she could overcome this situation herself.
‘Should I… try?’
Perhaps Sion was hoping she would complete the Secret Magic with this very opportunity.
Yes, what was the reason she had failed at the Secret Magic in the first place?
She couldn’t handle the explosively surging mana, so she couldn’t even begin in the first place.
But what if her mana were forcibly suppressed like this?
‘That’s the opening!’
Lumia’s eyes gleamed.
At the same time, she began to deploy the Secret Magic she had learned from Sion.
“Balance, I call upon you……!”

* * *

[You’re perceptive.]
“If I didn’t have eyes in my head, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Sion smirked lightly, watching as Lumia immediately attempted the secret technique.
It was certainly impressive that she recognized his intent at once and moved to deploy secret magic.
.
That was unmistakably the Blue Tower’s secret magic that Altair had committed to memory at Belusian’s request.
[Though I confess, I’m curious about one thing, human.]
“What?”
[Belusian. Why does he attach his name to every secret technique?]
“Ah, that?”
The other secret magics he hadn’t yet taught bore Belusian’s name as well.
The reason was simple enough.
“I got caught trying to patent them behind his back once.”
[…….]
“Ever since then, he’s been slapping his name on everything like a man possessed. I’ve been reflecting on my behavior, though.”
[Surprising he didn’t cut ties with you.]
“At the time, I had my reasons. He went around talking about building a new workshop using techniques I’d taught him.”
[Birds of a feather, it seems.]
Akasha grasped the situation quickly.
In any case, while Lumia was committing the incantation to memory, there was no chance the intruder would simply stand and watch.
He intended to use his assassins to launch an attack before Lumia could even complete the incantation.
But.
“Ah, that won’t do.”
Sion flicked his fingers lightly, setting mana in motion.
Though he too fell within the weapon’s sphere of influence, it scarcely mattered.
He had Akasha, and beyond that, his Mobius Circle itself was unaffected by the Magic Killer’s power.
Thump!
In the same instant, chains woven from mana coiled tightly around both the assassin and the middle-aged man.
“Gh, ngahhh……!”
“W-what in the……!”
The intruders stared at the mana chains binding them, their faces etched with shock.
“Mana?! How could you possibly ignore Aldebaran’s power…….”
“You put in considerable preparation, I’ll grant you. But it was still clumsy.”
With those words, Sion finally revealed himself before them.
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened.
“W-who are you?!”
“Someone who lives in this tower.”
Sion tapped their shoulders lightly as he answered.
“Using a sword in a battle between mages is against the rules, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Gyaaaah!”
The intruder struggled to break free, but the chains didn’t budge an inch. Sion left them to their futile efforts and turned his gaze toward Lumia, who remained utterly absorbed in her casting.
By now, Lumia had achieved full concentration on the magic.
Mana surging forth in sudden expansion, constrained by the Magic Killer’s opposing force.
Adjusting the tension between them, Lumia was bringing the secret magic to completion.
The mana that had seemed unstable at first began to stabilize rapidly.
And once stabilized, it began to orbit around Lumia—as if shielding her from harm.
[She’s succeeded.]
“Indeed she has.”
As Akasha and Sion exchanged these words in deadpan tones, Lumia’s eyes snapped open.
“I did it!”
Lumia could barely contain her elation at having finally succeeded in the secret technique.
The secret magic she had manifested orbited her form, rendering the Magic Killer’s power itself utterly powerless.
In essence, is not an attack magic.
More accurately, one might call it a “protective magic.”
A power that permits action even in the face of unexpected forces—like the Magic Killer’s might.
Now able to wield magic freely, she lifted her head with renewed confidence and morale.
“……Huh?”
But he gaped in astonishment as he watched Sion subdue the assassins in a single heartbeat.
“K-it’s already over?”
“It is.”
“Why?”
“Because an assassin was charging at you with a blade right before your eyes, yet the Tower Master was absorbed entirely in your magic. Didn’t I have to step in?”
“……Ah.”
Lumia’s mouth fell open at those words.
Sion smiled faintly as he watched her reaction, then spoke.
“It’s fine. I’ve recorded the entire situation, so this will be irrefutable evidence that the Menelius Family cannot weasel their way out of.”
“……?!”
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened at those words, and he whipped his head toward Sion.
Sion chuckled softly and spoke again.
“What’s wrong? A bit startled that your family’s been exposed?”
“I, I am from the Menelius……”
“Ah, I’m not saying this merely because of your appearance. The very arrangement of Mana inscribed upon your physical body marks you as exactly that.”
“……?!”
The middle-aged man fell silent, unable to mount any refutation.
“In any case, I suspect there’s much for me to hear from you. And quite a lot to extract, for that matter.”
Sion smiled broadly at the middle-aged man and spoke.
“So I’d appreciate your honest cooperation.”
“…….”
At those words, the middle-aged man’s head bowed low.
Sion regarded him quietly and asked a question.
“So then, what is your name exactly? You’re only making things worse for yourself the more you deny it when it’s already all been exposed.”
“That is……”
The middle-aged man ground his teeth, hesitated, and then opened his mouth at last.
“……Kaiłdus Menelius.”
He continued speaking with an expression of profound exasperation.
“I serve as Deputy Head of the Menelius County Family.”
“Ho.”
Sion’s lips slowly curled upward as he heard those words.

* * *

Some time later, Sion found Nerin.
Nerin had been waiting not far away for the situation to conclude.
“For now, it’s over.”
“Y-yes……”
“Though your part isn’t finished, mind you.”
Sion continued speaking.
“There’s still the interrogation. We need to know exactly what reason he had for orchestrating this, and why he pursued you so relentlessly……”
“……”
“I’ll ask you just to be sure—you really don’t know the full circumstances, do you?”
“……He just kept chasing me. I heard the word ‘half-breed’ a lot.”
“I see.”
Sion’s voice turned cold and sharp.
He recognized that Nerin’s words were truthful.
‘I should have made sure to finish him off more thoroughly.’
Nerin was valuable, high-grade labor force with considerable promise.
Any attempt to harm such labor was tantamount to a direct threat against Sion himself.
He considered making sure Kaiłdus paid more dearly even now, but decided to hold back for the moment.
“Come with me. We’ll need to have a proper conversation. You were curious too, weren’t you?”
“……Yes.”
Nerin followed Sion quietly toward where the middle-aged man Kaiłdus was being held.
The moment they arrived, Kaiłdus—bound and restrained—snapped his eyes open and began to thrash about.
“You, you……!”
“Here we go again with this nonsense.”
Sion scoffed quietly as he glanced briefly at Kaiłdus.
“Let me ask just to be certain—it was you who attacked her, correct?”
“It was.”
“Fine, I understand.”
Sion nodded and met Kaiłdus’s gaze.
“Why did you do it?”
“Because she’s a hybrid! No, that’s not even a simple hybrid — it’s something that could become a catastrophe… a ticking time bomb for the Main House!”
“What’s wrong with Nerin?”
Her constitution is complicated enough, and without careful management she has a high likelihood of self-destruction. That alone is heartbreaking.
But a ticking time bomb?
“Really, you’re spouting…”
“Do you know what dwells in that hybrid’s blood!”
Kaiłdus glared at Sion with bloodshot eyes, his voice rising.
“A demon!”
……
“A demon’s blood has seeped into that hybrid, of all people!”
As Kaiłdus spoke, his eyes fixed on Nerin with utter revulsion.
“Your brother called her a seed of catastrophe but still hid this from the family because she’s his child, and sent her away — but that was a mistake! If she goes into a rampage, how could anyone predict what would happen…!”
“A demon?”
“Yes!”
Kaiłdus cried out as if entrusted with a sacred duty.
“The blood of an ancient demon passed down through legend…”
“That’s complete nonsense. That’s just the Menelius Family average.”
“…What?”
Hearing Kaiłdus’s words, Sion found it utterly absurd.
“Your family’s ancestor was a demon in the first place — what are you going on about?”
“Ah, no, that hybrid has a constitution incapable of controlling demon blood…”
“No, wait.”
Sion, unable to hold back any longer, fixed Kaiłdus with a hard stare.
“So did she rampage?”
“U-uh?”
“Did she rampage?”
Sion’s eyes blazed like living fire.
Kaiłdus realized that one wrong word here could get him absolutely destroyed.
In that moment, he averted his gaze like a frightened puppy.
“N-no…”
Somehow it seemed the right thing to do.
At that answer, Sion clutched his face in frustration and muttered.
“…Damn it, idiots, really.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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