The Mage’s Nemesis Has Reincarnated - Chapter 44

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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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The Natural Enemy of Mages Has Been Reincarnated – Episode 44
“Go to hell.”
Crude words spilled from John Wheeler’s mouth.
It wasn’t the answer Zeke had expected.
“You’ll spare us if we tell you the leader’s location? Do we look like fools? Even if we believed you, none of us would speak. We’re bound by a Mana Oath.”
“Being bound doesn’t prevent you from speaking about the binding itself, does it? Why not take this chance to at least save your lives?”
“Like I said, go to hell.”
Even at Zeke’s persuasion, the 1st Commander’s eyes remained unwavering.
The 2nd Commander beside him was the same.
‘Does this mean I have no choice but to torture them?’
But they wouldn’t open their mouths easily.
Their loyalty to the leader seemed exceptional, matching their high ranks.
‘How do I make them talk?’
While Zeke pondered, the 1st and 2nd Commanders were making repeated attempts.
Attempts to escape their predicament through magic.
But the twisted expressions on both their faces showed no signs of easing.
‘What method was used to prevent mana from gathering?’
‘Blocking mana without even using restraint devices… I’ve never heard of such a technique, let alone seen one.’
The most common method of blocking mana was restraint devices.
Handcuff-shaped restraints or shackles were made from a mineral called ‘Arcnium’ that had the property of absorbing mana.
The restraining bars installed in the Underground Dungeon of the Royal Palace worked the same way.
Another mana-blocking method was a spell called ‘Dispel’.
A technique only 9th Circle Grand Mages could use, treated as equivalent to the Shadowless Blade.
‘Could it be… that bastard is 9th Circle?’
‘That’s absurd. There’s no way a 9th Circle would be in a place like this.’
Whether or not Zeke knew what the commanders were thinking, he muttered.
“There’s no reason to hide my face anymore, is there?”
With that, I dispelled the magic covering my face.
Soon, the youthful features of a boy were revealed.
The commanders were all taken aback.
“You… you’re!”
“The successor of McLafflin?”
Though the commanders each had different missions, they shared knowledge of one another’s assignments.
So they also knew that the 3rd Commander was impersonating Zeke McLafflin.
They just hadn’t expected the real target to be right in front of them.
“How did you even get here…?”
“No, more importantly, how are you using aura…?”
It was basic knowledge that magic and aura couldn’t coexist.
Yet the successor of a Prestigious Magic Family, known to be 6th Circle, was brazenly manifesting an aura blade.
Confusion was only natural.
Zeke McLafflin himself remained unfazed.
“What’s so surprising about this? Is it strange that I use aura?”
“From what I heard, you’re only a 6th Circle mage…”
“How could a mage possibly wield aura…”
Zeke McLafflin had no reason to answer.
He simply opened a pocket dimension.
“Huh?”
“That, that is!”
The moment Zeke McLafflin withdrew a small box, the commanders’ eyes widened dramatically.
It wasn’t the object itself that shocked them.
“No, no way—you can use pocket dimensions!”
“Could it be… you learned from that person?”
At their reaction, Zeke McLafflin’s eyes narrowed.
“That person? Who are you talking about?”
“….”
John Wheeler closed his mouth belatedly, realizing his mistake.
But the words had already reached Zeke McLafflin’s ears.
Zeke McLafflin pressed the matter relentlessly.
“Is there another being who uses pocket dimensions like me? You know, don’t you? 1st Commander.”
“….”
John Wheeler remained stubbornly silent throughout.
He hadn’t even revealed the location of the leader—there was no way he’d speak about this.
“Well, I can find out about that later. But this object—it’s important to you two, isn’t it?”
Each time Zeke McLafflin shook the small box, both men’s gazes followed it intently.
“What is this thing that makes it so important?”
“….”
“Is it dangerous, perhaps?”
“….”
“Who exactly am I talking to right now?”
Though Zeke McLafflin spoke with exasperation, he viewed the situation optimistically.
Wasn’t there a saying that silence itself was affirmation?
Click—
I opened the box and withdrew a vial.
The sloshing liquid of unknown composition hardly looked safe.
As I removed the stopper, it made a soft pop sound.
“Whether this is dangerous or not, we’ll find out by testing it, won’t we?”
“What? Wait, hold on!”
I suddenly seized the 2nd Commander’s jaw and forced the substance into his mouth.
Only a tiny amount—barely a sip.
Though I couldn’t pour much, it was more than enough to produce results.
“Gack… cough… wheeze!”
The 2nd Commander, forced to swallow the drug, collapsed onto the floor and pounded his own chest repeatedly.
His symptoms resembled severe respiratory distress.
John Wheeler watched the scene unfold with widened eyes.
Veins bulged across his entire face—a sight of unbearable agony.
“Turns out it was poison.”
I gazed down at the motionless 2nd Commander with cold indifference.
As expected, it was indeed a dangerous substance.
“So then.”
My gaze shifted toward the remaining 1st Commander.
“Will you tell me the information I want, or would you prefer to drink all of this?”
John Wheeler swallowed hard, his face rigid with tension.

* * *
The Black Moon operated under one unspoken rule.
Never divulge any information beyond what the mission requires.
Not even to fellow operatives working alongside you.
This was precisely why the field commanders didn’t know their leader’s name.
‘Time has already passed this far—why haven’t I received their report yet?’
Mallock Pierce, the leader of the Black Moon, stared at the desk clock powered by mana stones.
The time for the field commanders’ report had already elapsed.
The communication device connected to the field commanders remained silent.
‘Has something happened?’
Unable to wait idly, I attempted to contact them directly.
But for some reason, they weren’t answering.
All of them—from the 1st through 4th Commanders.
‘This is no ordinary situation.’
The way things were unfolding felt deeply wrong.
Mallock retrieved a different communication device from his drawer.
It was connected to his superior.
After tapping it three times, light flickered and the connection was established.
-What is the matter?
“Baluduk. I apologize for contacting you at this late hour, but an urgent matter has arisen…”
-Has a problem occurred?
“I’ve suddenly lost contact with all the field commanders. This has never happened before.”
-The Oath of Mana?
“Of course it was imposed. Therefore, the possibility of betrayal is nonexistent.”
-…
Baluduk fell silent, sensing the gravity of the situation.
“What should I do? I have no way to locate them…”
—Where’s the poison that Nox delivered?
“I handed it to the 3rd Commander. By now, he should have passed it to the contact. Assuming nothing went wrong.”
—The contact’s name is Corel Shadow, correct?
“Yes, that’s right. He’s posing as a count within the Bryant Family. The plan is for him to impersonate Zeke McLafflin, the real power behind the Royal Court Mage Order.”
—Regardless of whose identity he assumes, we need to find that poison first. If the source of the drug is exposed, it will be problematic.
“I understand.”
—Then you grasp the situation. If this operation fails, your position will be filled by a new leader. Of course, you yourself will vanish from this world without a trace. Do you comprehend?
“Y-yes, I will keep it in mind.”
—And the moment you end this communication, destroy the communication device we used. Until I provide you with a new one.
“Understood.”
The conversation ended there.
Or rather, it was less a conversation than a one-sided threat.
A threat that if the poison bottle wasn’t recovered, death would follow.
“Damn it. Destroy the communication device? Surely he’s not cutting loose ends now, is he?”
I felt a chill of foreboding, but Baluduk was meticulous enough to dismiss it as caution.
After all, I could sense that things were unfolding strangely.
“There’s no way seventh-circle mages could have been defeated. What in the world are they doing out there?”
Mallock Pierce muttered irritably as he channeled powerful mana into Baluduk’s communication device.
Crackle—
He destroyed one, and in the process, he destroyed the other communication device as well.
Always prepared for contingencies, Mallock Pierce cleaned up after himself.
“When those bastards return, they’d better watch themselves. I’ll beat them half to death.”
It was at that moment, as Mallock Pierce’s expression darkened with frustration.
Creak—
The sound of a door opening came from outside the room.
Mallock Pierce had made this isolated cabin his residence.
Someone had appeared there in silence?
Wariness naturally flickered across Mallock Pierce’s eyes.
Whoosh—
Mallock Pierce seized the staff leaning against the table and drew up his mana while fixing his gaze on the door.
The incantation was already formed in his mind.
If it was an unfamiliar face, he intended to kill them with magic immediately.
However.
Creak—
The person who entered was no outsider.
A familiar face.
None other than the 1st Commander, John Wheeler.
My tension dissolved in an instant.
Simultaneously, fury surged through me.
“You bastard, why haven’t you been answering communications….”
In that instant, Mallock Pierce, who had been watching the man behind John Wheeler, seized the thread of tension he’d released.
The figure pressed close behind John was a boy of roughly fifteen years old.
‘That one… Zeke McLafflin?’
The successor to the McLafflin Duchy, a prestigious magic family of Decan.
The true power behind the Royal Court Mage Order and a 6th Circle mage—originally known as a talentless dullard lacking magical aptitude, but that had now been proven false.
Corel Shadow’s plan was to impersonate such a Zeke McLafflin.
That was the extent of what Mallock knew.
There was no need to know more details beyond that.
They were people he had no reason to directly encounter or become entangled with.
But now, in this moment, the situation had changed.
‘If that bastard isn’t using shape-shifting magic and is the real Zeke McLafflin…’
Then the 1st Commander before his eyes would be under coercion.
There was no other reason he would have come here together with him.
Sure enough, the face of the 1st Commander, nervously glancing about like a dog needing to relieve itself, came into view.
“This bastard dares bring a rat with him?”
From the tip of Mallock Pierce’s staff, a spear of darkness shot forth.
Because he had prepared in advance, the spell’s activation was instantaneous.
Thwack!
“Gaaaahhh!”
As darkness pierced through the heart, a death cry erupted.
The one who screamed was not Zeke, but John Wheeler.
Thud—
Though it appeared to be a strike aimed at the 1st Commander who had come with his tail between his legs, Mallock Pierce had actually accounted for Zeke behind him as well.
But.
“Hmm?”
Zeke, having sensed the intent, had already withdrawn from the range.
“To react and evade in such a brief moment. Your movements are unbecoming of a mage.”
“Spare the compliments. Are you the leader of Black Moon?”
“Heh heh, look at this reckless fool.”
“Are you the leader or not? Answer.”
At Zeke’s absurd question, Mallock Pierce couldn’t suppress a hollow laugh.
“If I am? What will you do about it?”
“I have some questions for you, and you’ll need to cooperate.”
“So the rumors were wrong—you’re genuinely insane.”
Mallock Pierce sneered at Zeke.
His gaze was as if he were looking at a mere child.
And with good reason—he was an 8th Circle mage.
His opponent was merely a 6th Circle.
“I ask the questions, boy.”
Mallock Pierce, staff in hand, immediately cast Paralyze.
Watching Zeke, whose entire body had gone rigid and motionless, I couldn’t help but smirk.
But my smile didn’t last long.
“What are you doing?”
“…Huh?”
Confusion flashed across Mallock Pierce’s face.
The man I shouldn’t have been able to move was scratching his neck and speaking.
“You said you had questions, then immediately cast a paralysis spell. Are you an idiot?”
“You… you bastard…”
I didn’t know why the spell hadn’t worked, but it didn’t matter.
I could kill him right here without any consequences.
‘My plan will fall apart, but I can’t let him live now that he’s seen me.’
The thought of paralyzing him first and then torturing him had long since vanished.
Mana gathered at the tip of Mallock Pierce’s staff as he aimed it at Zeke.
“Burst of Blood.”
A dark spell that ruptured blood vessels throughout the target’s body like a firecracker, spraying blood everywhere.
Its activation was fast, making it perfect for a surprise attack.
A forbidden spell—one that meant instant death upon impact.
Knowing this, Mallock Pierce’s lips curled upward.
Soon Zeke’s head would burst like a firecracker.
But.
“What are you doing?”
“…?”
Three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds.
No matter how long I waited, Zeke didn’t burst.
Not a single drop of blood dripped from his nostrils.
‘I… I definitely hit him…?’
Zeke grinned wickedly at Mallock Pierce, who was desperately trying to hide his panic.
“What spell were you trying to use? It seemed like an unfamiliar one. Is it dark magic?”
“…”
“Well, I’ll figure it out by trying it myself.”
Zeke suddenly extended his hand, aiming at Mallock Pierce.
Slightly lower.
“Release.”
In that instant, Mallock Pierce’s eyes widened more than they ever had before.
Splurt!
His most precious area burst like a firecracker.

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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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