The Regressed Magic Swordsman Devours the North - Chapter 47

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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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Chapter 47. Gaebyek (1)
In the underground prison of the Siren Inspection Bureau. Faint electric lights flicker between cement walls that have never known sunlight.
Thud, thud.
A man behind the iron bars turns his gaze upon Jephren.
“Are you conscious?”
A quiet question breaking the silence.
Jephren slowly lifts his head.
“Kill me.”
His voice, hollow and empty, echoes through the cell. Hopeless. Resigned.
The Magic Engine that had been lodged in his heart had already been torn out.
Yet emergency treatment has left him clinging to life—barely. Truthfully, he was living on borrowed time, waiting for death’s summons.
“Three of them have come looking for you already. Persistent. They don’t know the meaning of surrender.”
……
Jephren offers no reply to the man’s words. He merely avoids nothing, listening quietly.
“When I investigated those men, I found a research institution called Post 24.”
The man—Zephir, a close aide of David Carlsen—continues without emotion.
“I even considered handing you over to them as bait, then tracking them down and crushing them.”
At the mention of handing him over to Post 24, Jephren lowers his head again and speaks.
“You should have done so.”
Zephir lets out a quiet laugh, as though he’d anticipated that exact answer.
“No. I was going to.”
Jephren lifts his head. A question in his eyes.
“But the Northern King has awakened. How could I remain idle? I deployed covert operatives to investigate, and discovered that Post 24’s associates have a base in Travis. And at this very moment, the one conducting the investigation there is Prince Sion Carlsen.”
……!
At the mention of Sion’s name, Jephren’s pupils dilate sharply. That cursed name again.
Yet this time it was different. The name that had once destroyed him now pointed toward his enemy.
“There’s no definitive proof, but their connections to a company called E5 Francis run quite deep. However, it appears the Prince has already marked that company as an adversary.”
“I have a request.”
For the first time, Jephren speaks of a request. This man who had shown only resignation, rage, and despair.
“Speak.”
“Once Prince Sion has finished his business in Travis… then. Kill me.”
The faint electric light reflects off Jephren’s eyes. They are no longer as dark as before.
Zephir sees this and lets out a short laugh.
“Pray for that to the heavens.”
And with that, he turns and leaves.
Thud-thud-thud.
The sound of military boots is rhythmic and measured.
***
Midgal Rau, head of the Inspection Bureau, places the evidence materials Sion sent on his desk.
Thump.
An absurdly vast quantity.
Yet there is not a trace of irritation in Midgal’s eyes as he examines the materials. Rather, a quiet thrill stirs within them.
‘This is another possibility.’
The tragedy unfolding in Travis.
As food left exposed will rot, insects will swarm, mold will spread, until at last it becomes something so grotesque it can no longer be called food—
This too was something corrupted over a very long time.
For Midgal, who had traversed battlefields and struck down clear ‘enemies,’ Travis had been a black fog—impossible to know where to begin or how to act.
But from the moment Sion Carlsen entered that place, Travis began to change.
He cleared the lawless Jarl Mountains, Julian unified the local populace, and together with civilian organizations, they built an intelligence network.
And now, he has sent evidence materials meticulously documenting the connections between nobles, various enterprises, and criminal organizations.
“Begin.”
“Yes, sir!”
Midgal’s heavy voice falls, and the Inspection Bureau’s staff respond in unison.
Midgal examines the evidence materials alongside his administrative staff, specialists in documentation—dissecting and laying bare each detail.
Hmm……
Midgal’s brow furrows deeply as he reviews the evidence.
Cross-referencing with the fund-flow information sent by police and Inspection Bureau contacts he’d placed in Travis—
Most of it aligned perfectly.
Yet these were only surface-level flows; he had been unable to discern the intent behind the funds. But in the materials Sion sent, the precise purpose was evident.
Next came evidence of nobles—dukes, counts, viscounts, and barons led by Duke Caster—accepting bribes and turning a blind eye to the kidnapping of territorial subjects.
“…….”
Midgal Rau drew on his cigar as he turned the page.
One page, two pages, three pages…… he read through hundreds of pages of detailed documentation.
Criminal organizations openly conducting kidnappings, plunder, and robbery.
Worthless nobility turning a blind eye.
A structure where corrupt enterprises that exploit subjects and pay tribute to nobles prosper, while honest ones that coexist with the people inevitably collapse.
Reading it all filled him with guilt.
Sigh——
Pale smoke rose with the sound of his breath, dispersing into the air moments later.
“What have I been doing all this time?”
Midgal Rau pressed his fingers to his temples. A headache bore down on him. His chest felt tight. But the more it did, the more he knew things had to change.
And so.
“……Yes. Now I see it.”
Midgal Rau forced a smile.
A knight’s honor had become rigidity, and incompetence cloaked in the name of procedure had allowed the suffering of the people to go unheeded.
At least he understood it now.
There was some mercy in that.
He reflected on the years he’d lived in ignorance, incompetent without knowing it…….
“Now I must trust.”
Trust those smarter than me, those who read the times better. Someone like Sion Carlsen, perhaps.
Midgal Rau immediately began drafting an order.
Operation codename: Gaebyek.
An order delegating the Inspection Bureau’s maximum authority to Sion Carlsen, director of the Special Investigative Headquarters.
Furthermore, he commanded all knights currently in Travis, including errant knights and knights of the Standards, to obey every order Sion Carlsen gave.
***
At the Carlsen Family Mansion, across its vast grounds, a magnificent mechanical device was operating.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clack!
Magic Stones were ground away.
Whoosh—— pop—— pop——
Energy surged forth.
Click—— clunk. Clunk.
Something meshed together. From the interlocking mechanism, light was emitted. It carved images into the empty air.
As if there were an invisible canvas suspended in the void.
At the culmination of the effort to visualize Magical Wavelength, as energy concentrated.
Boom! Sometimes it exploded.
Screech-screech-screech—— sometimes it stabilized.
The mysteries of Arcane Engineering condensed together, producing…… strange phenomena that continued without end.
On and on it went, until finally it touched Black Magic. It took shape. Still rough, still fleeting, but.
The research had definitely progressed.
Originally, the Carlsen family had no research laboratory. Lord David Carlsen had never conducted such research.
But after Sion Carlsen brought Doctor Crombel to him, David Carlsen changed his mind and permitted the laboratory.
Thanks to this, a massive research facility could be built, and Doctor Crombel threw himself into his work day after day, forgetting to change his clothes, to wash, to eat properly.
He devoted himself entirely to the research.
Roman, often sent by Sion’s orders, saw to Doctor Crombel’s meals and monitored his health, but Roman had his own duties elsewhere and couldn’t manage things in detail.
In practice, he was largely left alone—— yet Doctor Crombel seemed delighted by something. He grinned from ear to ear every single day.
“Kekeke. Kahahaha! Kahahaha!”
Beneath matted hair, Doctor Crombel’s sharp gaze fixed on a table across the laboratory.
A Staff that looked as if vertebrae had been joined together. A silver Ring with a crimson jewel embedded at its center.
The reason for his laughter.
“This is truly.”
Doctor Crombel surveyed his research data in a trembling voice. He’d sampled the energy inherent in the Staff and Ring jewel.
“You’ve done something extraordinary. Sion Carlsen.”
The reason his stalled research had made a breakthrough. It was thanks to the Artifact Sion Carlsen had sent him.
The Magical essence contained within the Staff and Ring. It was unmistakably the Black Magic he had spent his entire life searching for.
Doctor Crombel wrapped both arms around his own shoulders. His body trembled with the thrill of it.
“Yes……this is it. Kehehe. This is it! I’ve finally taken a step closer to those bastards.”
Doctor Crombel was overjoyed. The mere fact that he’d drawn one step closer to those who had taken his wife and daughter filled him with such emotion that tears came to his eyes.
And all of this——
“Come back soon. Sion Carlsen. Or I just might come looking for you.”
Doctor Crombel counted the days until his next meeting with Sion Carlsen.
***
Tap. Tap.
Someone’s footsteps echoed into the pitch-black interior of a building devoid of lantern or candlelight.
The silence hung as thick as the darkness itself, which made every sound ring out unnaturally loud.
Q glanced down both corridors. Nothing but dead, black space in every direction.
“Sigh.”
A soft breath escaped. Never did Q expect to report in at this ungodly hour of dawn.
But there was no choice.
Not when he had called.
—Come this way.
Q followed the voice.
Tap. Tap.
Upon reaching a certain door, faint light seeped from beneath it, and Q sensed a presence inside. Should I open it? Should I knock first?
While Q hesitated, the voice came again.
—Enter.
Q squeezed his eyes shut and opened the door. Inside stood a man with brilliant golden hair, radiant as the sun itself.
Sion Carlsen.
He handed over an envelope.
“When P returns, deliver this for me. By express post.”
“…Ah, yes.”
Q took the envelope from Sion and read the recipient’s name.
—Black Eagle, Ren
“…!?”
Sion was sending correspondence to Black Eagle, one of the three major thief guilds of the north.
“H-how am I to…”
“To manage the void left behind by darkness.”
Sion commanded that everything be kept in strictest confidence. And no wonder—this was something he was pursuing alone, without his colleagues’ knowledge.
“The Inspection Bureau has already decided to sweep away every criminal organization in Travis. The nobles connected to them as well. But afterward, what then?”
“…That is…”
“Stray dogs will come sniffing for the empty space. And stray dogs need a leash.”
“…I see.”
Q couldn’t fathom why Sion was telling him this. What would happen if he spoke of it?
Of course, he didn’t want to die, so he wouldn’t—but still…
“Q.”
“Yes.”
“I want us to share the same boat. A boat where betrayal means only death.”
“W-what do you…”
In Q’s bewildered eyes reflected Sion’s face, smiling softly. That voice was still all too believable. His expression, too, invited belief—even as doubt gnawed at Q’s mind.
“Next time, I’ll visit with good wine.”
With that, Sion rose and left. Q watched his receding figure without turning his head, the man growing smaller in the darkness.
“Ha. This is something.”
One thought surfaced in that moment.
Good wine, he said?
What wine, exactly?
***
My colleagues and I, each in disguise, conducted a thorough reconnaissance of the E5 Francis building.
Operation Gaebyek would soon unfold there, and we needed to map the terrain and be ready for any contingency.
The E5 Francis building sat deep in the mountains, quite far from the capital of Cadis.
For a company that produced and supplied Magic Stone-related products, it was isolated to an unusual degree.
‘Because Post 24 is conducting terrible human experiments in the basement of this very building.’
“Listen carefully.”
We had sufficient evidence.
And the orders had come down from Midgal Rau.
“Your objective: eliminate them completely, utterly. And secure the hostages and gather the evidence.”
I assigned each of my colleagues their tasks.
“I’ll go in first and gather intelligence. When I give the signal, move down from above and push through.”
There was no verbal answer.
They simply nodded.
The Returned Sword Master Devours the North
Author
: Careless Moment
Publication Date
: June 16, 2026
Publisher
: Acesis Media Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief
: Acesis Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
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The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
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UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260615032

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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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