Chapter 135
Someone who shouldn’t be here.
No, someone who couldn’t be here.
Han Si-hyuk stood before me.
Not in the form of a child, but as his usual self.
Have I gone mad?
If what I saw earlier was just a figment of my imagination, that would explain it.
But the Han Si-hyuk standing here now was real.
His low voice echoed through the open space once more.
“I said, let him go.”
“This is quite the unexpected guest,” Archant muttered, gritting his teeth as he alternated between glaring at Han Si-hyuk and me.
“How did you get here?”
Even though Han Si-hyuk’s appearance was a surprise, there was no time to be distracted.
The moment Archant’s attention wavered, I quickly set up a barrier with the magic I had managed to recover.
“Argh!”
Bam.
Archant was thrown back, hitting the glass-like barrier hard. His grip on my collar loosened, failing to drag me into his subspace.
Archant was just as battered as I was, his body trembling as he staggered to his feet.
He massaged his aching wrist with his other hand, a grimace of pain on his face.
Han Si-hyuk’s voice cut through the tension, cold and unwavering.
“If you hadn’t let go, I would’ve cut off your hand. Consider yourself lucky.”
I had no idea what was going on.
I couldn’t comprehend the situation.
Step, step.
Han Si-hyuk was getting closer.
While I was grateful for the timely opportunity to counterattack, Archant wasn’t someone Han Si-hyuk could handle.
If Han Si-hyuk turned his back on him, Archant would teleport behind him and slit his throat.
And Archant moved exactly as I expected.
Swish.
Clang.
The prophet may be weak, but he’s a master of defensive magic.
Han Si-hyuk didn’t fall to Archant’s first strike.
Archant’s knife failed to penetrate Han Si-hyuk’s barrier, deflecting off and leaving him unharmed.
“Not bad. You’ve grown, Han Si-hyuk,” Archant said, his lips curling into a sardonic smile.
“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
“Is that so?”
“We don’t need to be at each other’s throats like this.”
“Kidnappers don’t get to say that.”
Archant laughed, amused by Han Si-hyuk’s remark.
“I should’ve asked for permission before taking them. My mistake.”
Archant adjusted his tattered clothes, his voice taking on a chilling edge.
“So, what do you say? Can I take him now?”
“….”
“It’s infuriating to lose a catch like this.”
Archant stared at me for a moment before turning back to Han Si-hyuk.
“Hey, prophet. If I lose him, are you going to take responsibility?”
While Archant was focused on Han Si-hyuk, I used [Heal] to restore my strength.
It was a powerful ability, better than any potion. With my magic partially restored, I planned to snatch the necklace from Archant and destroy the rift.
It was a straightforward strategy, but I needed Han Si-hyuk to keep Archant distracted.
At least long enough for me to get the job done.
Han Si-hyuk seemed to pick up on my plan, glancing in my direction.
“Han Siha.”
“….”
“Should I just kill him?”
Any method that could buy time was welcome.
Instinctively, I nodded.
“That would be—”
Wait a second.
What did he just say?
“Uh?”
Did he say he was going to kill Archant?
Han Si-hyuk, the same person who got thrashed by me, will kill Archant?
Before I could fully process what was happening, Han Si-hyuk’s gaze shifted back to Archant.
Archant sneered, disbelief etched on his face.
“Prophet, have you lost your mind? You think a star-gazer like you can kill me—”
His words were cut off abruptly.
Crunch.
A sickening sound filled the air.
Crunch.
Again.
It took a moment to realize that the noise was Archant’s skull being crushed.
It took me even longer to comprehend what I was seeing.
“Guh… Guh…”
Archant’s hands scrambled desperately to grab Han Si-hyuk.
“S-spare me….”
But he coughed up blood, his eyes bulging in terror.
The primal fear of death gripped him, but only for a brief moment. Then Archant’s eyes rolled back, lifeless.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Without hesitation, Han Si-hyuk continued to bludgeon Archant with the hilt of his sword.
Archant’s hands, which had been gripping Han Si-hyuk, fell limp to the ground.
The overwhelming force with which Han Si-hyuk struck Archant reduced him to a bloody, unrecognizable heap on the floor.
The Archant who had been boasting moments earlier was dead, his mouth still agape in a silent scream.
Han Si-hyuk calmly removed his blood-stained gloves and tossed them beside Archant’s body.
Then he picked up the necklace from Archant’s corpse.
Han Si-hyuk turned back to me, speaking in his usual stern tone.
“Let’s go.”
I had no idea what had just happened.
But I understood one thing.
Breaking the rift would bring us back to reality.
With a steely expression, Han Si-hyuk gripped the necklace.
I moved toward him instinctively.
At the same time, the white light around us faded.
* * *
The ‘Maze’s Lair’ Academic Hall, Sepia.
A lively woman with pink hair burst into the waiting room, clasping her hands together.
“Oh my, kids!”
Thanks to Han Si-hyuk’s foresight, they had detected the rift early on.
Because of that, they had managed to contain the spatial distortion caused by Archant’s teleportation as much as possible.
However, four unlucky individuals had been swept up in the process.
Now they knew what had happened.
If things had gone according to plan, all the participants in the academic conference would have been trapped in the Room of Memories, but only four of us had fallen in.
Sepia was a skilled magician.
But no matter how talented she was, manipulating space outside of her domain was beyond her abilities.
So, from the perspective of those in the academic hall, Sepia’s response was the best they could have done.
Of course, she felt terribly sorry for those of us who fell into the rift.
“You’re all— Oh, you’re not fine!”
Sepia’s eyes landed on me first.
I was unharmed, but anyone could see that my clothes were in tatters.
Sepia fussed over me, shaking my shoulders.
“Oh my, are you okay?”
“It’s just the clothes.”
To show that I was okay, I raised my arm.
Sepia blinked and asked, puzzled, “Huh? How is it that only your clothes are damaged?”
“Oh, it’s just the style these days. A bit of a torn-up look, you know?”
Anyone could see that my clothes weren’t just worn—they were shredded. But Sepia seemed to sense that I didn’t want to discuss it further and let it go.
“Hmm, well, you don’t look fine at all… I’ll make sure you get a participation certificate for the conference, but you should definitely get treated.”
She wasn’t an educator.
Despite her lively demeanor, she was someone who had witnessed countless deaths up close.
So while my clothes were in tatters, she didn’t show excessive concern for a student whose body was still intact.
Her philosophy was simple: if you survived, that’s what mattered.
Sepia let it slide, but the others wouldn’t be so lenient.
“Han Siha!”
“Yeah?”
“…What happened to you?”
The moment I stepped out of the office, Adela cornered me.
She had also been dragged into the Room of Memories.
From her perspective, having likely only caught glimpses of Seymour’s memories, she was understandably curious about what had happened to leave me in such a state.
When I didn’t respond immediately, Adela pressed further.
“What happened to you?!”
“This?” I pointed to my scorched and torn clothes.
How was I supposed to explain this?
After a brief moment of thought, I decided to be honest.
“Basilus did it.”
“Kuu…?”
Basilus blinked his eyes and tilted his head in confusion.
“Wh-what? Basilus did?”
“Kuu!”
Adela looked back and forth between Basilus and me, her eyes wide with disbelief.
A Tamer had returned looking like a wreck, and the monster he was with was apparently responsible. In Adela’s mind, a strange conclusion was probably forming.
“Did you… did you blow yourself up?”
“Yep.”
“You’re out of your mind… I mean… Are you insane?”
Even her toned-down words couldn’t hide her shock.
“You don’t strike me as someone who enjoys being burned alive.”
“….”
“So, what really happened? Something happened, didn’t it?”
It seemed she wouldn’t let this go easily. Adela’s expression grew more intense.
So, I decided to tell the truth again.
“Yeah, something big did happen.”
“What?”
“Archant is dead.”
Not “I caught Archant,” but “Archant is dead.”
Adela seemed to freeze, as if her brain had momentarily stopped processing.
“The dark mage who was after the Cube?”
“Yep, dead.”
Han Si-hyuk had killed him, but I figured it was best not to mention that part.
Right now, there was something more important I needed to understand.
“I need to go.”
“Wait, hold on. I’m so confused right now… What’s going on?”
“Sorry, I need to go right away.”
“Hey, Han Siha!”
I shrugged off Adela’s grasp and bolted.
* * *
If Han Siha had been just a disposable villain who dies early on, Han Si-hyuk was the brother of such an extra.
A character who had been pushed to the periphery of the novel, lacking any real presence.
I thought I knew Han Si-hyuk well.
I was wrong.
I didn’t know him at all.
How could I have known every detail of Han Si-hyuk’s life, recorded in just a few lines of text?
With my shallow understanding, there was no way I could know.
That’s why I sought out Han Si-hyuk’s office.
Thud.
I barged in without knocking. This wasn’t the time for formalities.
“What is it?”
Han Si-hyuk frowned, looking up at me.
He had fought Archant right in front of me, yet here he was, sitting perfectly composed, without a scratch on him.
While I had struggled with everything I had to even hold my ground against Archant, Han Si-hyuk had effortlessly crushed his skull without giving him a chance to fight back.
I couldn’t understand this situation.
I had to know.
I had to ask.
My voice trembled as I spoke.
“You’re a prophet.”
“That’s right.”
“I understand how you found me. Yoon haul could’ve done the same.”
Han Si-hyuk was the continent’s greatest prophet. He would have known something was going to happen at the academic conference.
It made sense that he could have found the rift and come to find me.
That much, I could accept.
But—
“What are you hiding?”
At least the Han Si-hyuk I knew wasn’t this powerful.
“You got beaten up by me before, and now you’ve taken down a dark mage. A dark mage I couldn’t even defeat… and you did it so easily?”
“You’re just weak.”
“That ridiculous excuse won’t fly with me.”
When we first met, Han Si-hyuk fought me earnestly.
I don’t believe it was a ruse.
When he got beaten by me, he was the very picture of a weak prophet.
But the raw strength he showed earlier wasn’t that of a prophet.
It was an impossible miracle.
Han Si-hyuk slowly turned his head.
His expression was calm, but there was a slight tremor in his voice.
“Assuming that Archant would be strong just because he was a wanted dark mage in the Empire is a mistake.”
“He was definitely stronger than you.”
Even Lee Han would struggle against Archant, but Han Si-hyuk?
I could bleed myself dry trying to defeat Archant, but Han Si-hyuk couldn’t.
A prophet was someone who had nothing to do with combat.
My voice was cold as I spoke.
“A man with almost no magic power.”
“….”
“Blocking Archant’s teleportation and taking him down in one blow?”
“….”
“That’s where your excuses end?”
“That’s…”
“What are you?”
What kind of person are you?
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