The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage - Chapter 296

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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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Episode 296
296
As the brilliant starlight of the Galaxy Sword Dance poured down like the Milky Way itself,
it pierced through the shadowy black sphere.
A heart was torn asunder.
Edian, who had been holding it, crumbled and let out a ghastly scream.
“Kugh… aaahhh….”
With that final destruction of every Demon’s heart,
the message I had been waiting for appeared before my eyes.
[You have satisfied one of the succession conditions for the Necromancer Lord!]
[Acquire a weapon imbued with demonic energy. (5 / 5)(Complete)]
[Destroy the hearts of Demons, the source of demonic energy. (Complete)]
[Seek out the Necromancer Lord to unlock the final condition.]
It was the message I had wanted, certainly.
But I couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed as I smacked my lips.
To be honest, I had summoned all my minions.
Yet I had handled everything myself.
I had wanted to face three Demons alone first, so I did just that.
‘They’re weaker than the Forbiddens….’
These creatures who claimed to be masters of demonic energy were far inferior to the Forbiddens who wielded weapons imbued with demonic energy.
As I smacked my lips at this disappointment,
Helena approached and spoke as if to console me.
“They were only low-rank Demons.”
“Hmm….”
“Even mid-rank ones are quite formidable. Since we’ll likely encounter them more as we get involved with the Sword Saint, let’s look forward to that.”
I consoled myself with her words, accepting the disappointment,
and looked at the message.
Since the second condition had been unlocked,
I thought the final condition would be unlocked as well.
But I had to seek out the Necromancer Lord.
Well, I was planning to go to Serul Tower anyway.
I was about to turn back immediately when
Helena urgently spoke to me.
“Yoo Sung-hyun? I think we need to leave quickly.”
“…Yes.”
At Helena’s words, I turned my head as well.
From the direction of Heptarion, I could faintly sense an aura as radiant as the sun.
More precisely, I could see a light as brilliant as the sun flash across the sky in an instant.
A familiar yet repugnant presence.
It was the aura of the Sword Saint.
I heard he was supposed to come tomorrow.
I didn’t even consider why he appeared now.
The fact that he appeared was the problem.
“I need to get out of here.”
To avoid detection at all costs, I sealed all my minions into the Underworld.
Then I slipped out of the barrier.
Since I fled in such haste, I couldn’t do anything about the incomplete magical artifacts.
If I delayed and encountered the Sword Saint here, it would become troublesome.
Of course, I didn’t think the Sword Saint could actually do much to me.
But avoiding him altogether was the best option.
With that thought, I exited the barrier as quickly as possible and headed toward Heptarion.
And before I could even fully leave the forest.
I caught my breath at the sight of something moving in the sky like a blazing sun.
But the movement continued unabated.
If I showed even the slightest sign, I could be discovered.
‘Phew.’
Fortunately, that radiant light paid me no mind and flew toward the direction where I had been moments before.
I didn’t think he failed to sense me.
I figured he simply didn’t care, so I hurried toward Heptarion as fast as I could.
I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
But I still had something I needed to do.
Once I reached Heptarion, I told Taucan that I had defeated the Demons.
I advised him to stay in the Slum District for a while before returning to the forest later, then headed toward Septem Arcana where the Serul Tower was located.
‘I really thought I was caught.’
I couldn’t understand why he came so early.
But I managed to escape cleanly.
That’s what matters.
It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t say goodbye to the Caliber Magic Tower.
Though it wasn’t uncommon for new knights to desert.
Leaving the Guard Knight Commander to his disappointment.
I thought this way and traveled through a portal.
6.
The Riescan Kingdom had a King, but there was a separate existence who symbolized the sun.
And the appearance of such a Sword Saint was nothing short of joy for the people.
Citizens of Heptarion rushed to catch even a glimpse of the Sword Saint’s sudden procession, cheering and scattering flowers all around.
The Sword Saint walked that path in silence, offering neither a benevolent smile nor a wave of his hand.
Even without such gestures, all the people were cheering at the sight of the hero.
But the Sword Saint harbored considerable displeasure at such superficial pageantry.
His anxiety still lingered.
‘How irritating.’
If I had my way, I would cut down everyone in this place and rush straight to the Magic Tower.
The fact that I couldn’t do so set my blood ablaze.
So I went through the motions of the ceremony and headed swiftly toward the Magic Tower.
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
The Tower Master and the senior mages and mages had come out to greet me.
But there was no familiar face among them.
‘Edian.’
The face that should have appeared if I had come was nowhere to be seen.
Did this unpleasant feeling leak out subtly on my expression?
“…Is there something troubling you?”
The Tower Master asked the Sword Saint, and the Sword Saint had nothing to say in response to his question.
Officially, Edian and the Sword Saint had no connection.
And the Tower Master didn’t know about it.
After all, what Tower Master would be pleased to learn that a Demon was residing in his own tower?
That’s why I had kept him as quiet as possible here.
But Edian was nowhere to be seen.
So the Sword Saint spoke as indirectly as possible.
“…The numbers seem sparse?”
“Ah, I see. You’ve noticed that some mages are absent. They’ve gone outside to gather materials for crafting magical weapons due to the orders we recently received.”
There was a slight edge to those words.
It was irritating.
But the Sword Saint nodded, responding appropriately.
“…I see.”
That meant Edian was in the external laboratory.
Was he simply devoting himself to crafting magical weapons?
It seemed I could just accept that and move on.
Yet for some reason, I felt a sense of urgency.
Because of that.
“You all work hard.”
“Hehehehe, it’s thanks to your concern, Sword Saint. However, the mages have been working too hard lately, so I’m thinking of reducing orders for a while.”
“….”
It was somewhat unpleasant.
No matter how much of a hero of the Riescan Kingdom the Sword Saint was, I couldn’t simply ignore the Tower Master speaking so bluntly.
I could have refused his opinion.
But pressed for time, the Sword Saint nodded in agreement.
“Very well.”
“Hehehehe, thank you.”
At those words, Serena, the senior mage, showed a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
If that were true, they could finally get some rest.
The Sword Saint, regardless, spoke quickly to escape the Magic Tower.
“Everyone, well done.”
With those words, I emerged from the Magic Tower.
As the Sword Saint left, cheers erupted from behind.
But there was no time to concern myself with such things now.
Once outside, the Sword Saint surveyed his surroundings.
He knew he should head straight to the lord, but upon seeing the attendants supporting him, he spoke immediately.
“I will be absent for a time.”
At those words, one of the Sword Saint’s disciples—the chief among his attendants—bowed and replied.
“I will handle matters well in your absence.”
“Very well.”
With that, the Sword Saint vanished from the spot like light itself, his radiant presence dissipating in an instant as he shot through the air toward his destination.
Yet he moved with such stealth and swiftness that no one could perceive his departure.
Even as he flew with tremendous speed, the Sword Saint did not forget to probe his surroundings.
There was a possibility that Edian might be nearby.
During his rapid flight,
he sensed an aura emanating from the Forest.
It was stronger than expected,
but it was poorly concealed, making its characteristics difficult to discern.
In any case, compared to himself, it was like a firefly—and above all, it was the aura of a foreigner.
Since there was no need to concern himself with such a foreigner,
he ignored it and flew swiftly toward the Forest.
He moved faster than anything else, yet why
did anxiety grip him so?
The Sword Saint reached a certain point,
and the moment he felt as though passing through a barrier, the landscape transformed into a desolate place.
Trees withered and drained of color, their bark ashen gray.
The Battlefield was saturated with demonic energy.
Yet.
‘…There was a battle here.’
Even from a dizzying height looking down,
the traces were unmistakably visible.
How could a battle have occurred in this place?
Unless the Demons permitted it, breaching this barrier would not be easy.
Who could possibly have invaded here?
Amid this incomprehension,
the Sword Saint slowly descended to the ground to investigate the truth.
Yet even as he touched down, he sensed no sign of any presence.
Had Edian unleashed such power, he should have come at once.
But he did not come.
And no presence could be felt at all.
‘…They died within the barrier.’
Edian and two other Demons had died within the barrier containing the heart?
Could a being of such strength even reach this place?
That’s what I thought.
An existence that forcibly breaches the barrier and slays Demons.
For that, one must above all be capable of detecting Demons.
A powerhouse matching all three criteria had appeared here?
It should have required reaching the transcendent realm like the Sword Saint himself—something I couldn’t comprehend.
Even I could barely reach this place because of the Riescan Kingdom.
Could another transcendent set foot in my territory?
‘…Impossible.’
Yet the scene unfolding before my eyes told a different story.
With displeasure etched across his face, the Sword Saint entered the Stone Chamber.
Demonic weapons lay scattered about in abundance.
But they hadn’t been completed yet—they revealed no aura of a finished magical weapon.
Incomplete demonic weapons.
And a Stone Chamber empty of any presence.
After witnessing it all, I stepped back outside.
Only then did I examine the traces of battle.
It wasn’t a single decisive blow.
Given the numerous traces left behind,
this wasn’t someone of my transcendent caliber.
‘…How dare they.’
To recklessly ruin my plans like this.
As I seethed with indignation,
the Sword Saint caught sight of one particular trace.
The moment his eyes fell upon it, his pupils trembled as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing.
An aura embedded there, shimmering faintly like starlight.
Unable to ignore it, unwilling to recognize it, his eyes trembled violently as he muttered,
“The… Silver Sword Dance?”
The traces of that very swordsmanship I had searched for so desperately.
Remained intact right there.
How could this possibly be?
The Sword Saint couldn’t comprehend it.
The Hero was surely guarded by us.
Someone wielding the Silver Sword Dance had appeared?
Standing dazed at this incomprehensible scene, the Sword Saint sensed the foreign presence he’d felt upon arriving
and took flight once more.
But unfortunately, the foreign aura that had lingered in the Forest had already vanished.
‘Could it be?’
Did he sense me and flee?
A foreigner wielding the Galaxy Sword Dance.
If I could capture him by any means, I might be able to groom him as a rival to that whelp of Overpalace.
Failing to scrutinize the characteristics of his aura was my blunder.
‘I cannot find him.’
For now, more than the master of Overpalace.
There is something I must find first.
‘I will find the master of the Galaxy Sword Dance.’
A being who inherited Hindel’s power.
With him alone.
Would he not become the key to toppling Overpalace?
The Sword Saint forgot that his plan had crumbled in such thoughts.
And devised a new one.
He never imagined that the master of that Galaxy Sword Dance.
Could be the same person as the master of Overpalace.

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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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