Chapter 15
“You’re the reason!”
The moment Markel finished speaking, a flash of red flickered at the edge of my vision. Black magic—specifically, blood magic.
Sssaaak! A crimson spear shot toward my head in the blink of an eye. I tilted my head to the right to dodge it. I didn’t avoid it completely—a thin line was carved along my cheek. But what mattered was that I had avoided it.
“H-how…?!”
Markel’s eyes filled with shock. It was only natural—he couldn’t believe that a novice who had just begun learning magic had seen through his ambush.
It was true that black magic didn’t follow the usual process of “perception—construction—manifestation,” meaning it had no clear tell. It was magic specialized purely for real combat.
But black magic had its own distinct stench.
I had fought black mages dozens, hundreds of times. It had only been a month since my regression—my senses hadn’t dulled enough to miss the sign of blood magic. If anything, the wound grazing my cheek had sharpened my instincts even further.
“Damn it…!”
Markel twisted his lips and lowered his stance. He pulled out a dagger and sliced his palm, then scattered droplets of blood into the air.
The floating droplets soon transformed into spears.
Papapapak! The blood spears shot toward my throat.
Whoosh!
I grasped the rune Kenaz and swept it sideways.
Flames scattered instantly, disrupting the blood spears’ trajectory. At the same time, I lowered my stance and rushed at Markel.
I had no sword. But I had my body.
I kicked his shin.
“Ghk!”
His posture collapsed instantly. Realizing he had allowed me to land a hit, veins bulged on Markel’s forehead.
“You bastard…! How dare you…!”
As he shoved me away, the blood spears that had paused midair shot forward again.
Clang!
But dozens of spears couldn’t even graze a single hair on me.
They shattered helplessly against an invisible barrier that had formed around us.
“Markel.”
A cold, authoritative voice echoed through the room.
Stern von Benheim—the archmage nearing the 7th circle—stepped forward with a dark expression.
“Brother… a part of me hoped this wasn’t true.”
“…Brother.”
“Even so, I at least hoped you would admit your wrongdoing and beg for your life. I thought you had at least that much awareness as a mage of Benheim.”
A low hum resonated.
Two runes floated above Stern’s palm—runes I had seen Renia use in my previous life.
“But it seems neither was the case.”
“…Tch.”
“Where did you learn such vile sorcery?”
Rumble.
The room trembled. As Stern raised his hand, the invisible barrier compressed and crushed inward from all directions.
His magic was crude.
No tricks. No finesse.
Just overwhelming mana density pressing everything down.
Blood magic—fired through mere blood—stood no chance against it.
“Ugh…!”
Markel drew out mana and constructed rune magic, but the gap between them was absolute.
They used the same runes, yet the power behind them was on a completely different level.
Markel’s stance collapsed.
Just as Stern’s magic was about to crush him completely—
“Cough… ngh…!”
Markel rolled across the ground in a pathetic state.
Stern had withdrawn his magic.
“Markel, this is your last chance. Tell the truth. Who taught you black magic? Who ordered you to kidnap Renia?”
“…Haah… now… you try to persuade me?”
Stern approached the exhausted Markel and lowered himself.
“Brother… if you surrender now, your life can still be spared. Your core will be destroyed, and you will rot in the family prison for life—but at least you will live. Above all… I do not wish to kill you.”
“…Ha… hahaha. Brother, did you know?”
Markel glared at Stern with a desperate expression. Then his gaze shifted to me.
“I always hated you. That arrogant look—like you alone carried all the family’s honor.”
“……”
“You were always like that. Trapped in the outdated title of head, blind to true power. The rotten order you’re trying to protect… you’ll never understand how meaningless it is.”
“Markel…”
“Talking about a ‘last chance’ now is laughable. That disgusting pity you show—it always drove me insane.”
While Markel ranted—
“…This is….”
I smelled it.
The sign of blood magic.
Behind Stern, droplets of blood floated in the air.
“Head! Watch out!”
Before my warning even finished, Stern had already activated a defensive spell.
But Markel wasn’t aiming for Stern.
Nor for me.
Papabak!
The blood droplets pierced Markel’s own body.
Self-inflicted.
Before Stern could react, blood poured from Markel’s wounds and enveloped him.
In an instant, his body dissolved into a crimson mist and shot out through the tower window.
‘Blood Mist Transformation.’
This was what made blood mages so troublesome.
Just when you thought you had them cornered, they would turn into mist and escape.
“…He escaped.”
Stern exhaled quietly and straightened up, calmly staring out the window.
“Are you alright, Reagan? You’ve been cut.”
“It’s nothing but a scratch.”
“That’s good.”
After briefly checking my wound, Stern let out a long sigh.
“It’s unfortunate that we let him get away.”
Markel had escaped.
Even after all this, we failed to capture him.
But—
“Head, may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Did you… let him go on purpose?”
“……”
Stern looked at me, curiosity flickering in his violet eyes.
“…Why do you think that?”
“It’s hard to believe that an archmage of your level would fail to capture a single black mage. So I can only assume you let him escape intentionally.”
“…Reagan, your instincts are quite sharp.”
He admitted it without hesitation.
“You’re right. I let him go. Why do you think I did that?”
“…Because he’s your brother?”
“That’s how it looked, didn’t it? Markel likely thought the same.”
Stern smirked.
“But I am someone who clearly distinguishes between personal and professional matters.”
He raised his left hand.
Throughout the fight, one of his hands had remained behind his back. I had thought it was simply the composure of the strong—but it wasn’t.
A rune glowed in his palm.
“This is Raidho (ᚱ). It represents a vehicle—or a guide. Before he escaped, I engraved this rune onto Markel’s body.”
“…Then through that rune…”
“Yes. I can track where he fled. And beyond that, uncover the identities of the black mages working with him. Of course, it will require a careful plan.”
Stern was far more ruthless than I had expected.
To him, Markel was already prey.
And he had marked him.
“We’ve driven out the rabbit—now it’s time to dig up its burrow.”
Stern intended not only to catch Markel, but to uproot everything behind him in one strike.
His coldness was chilling—but also understandable.
Only someone this decisive could lead a great magic family.
“This time, I owe you again, Reagan. Without your information, I would never have suspected my own brother.”
“I only heard it from the mage who gave me the pendant.”
“Even so, there are things I must confirm with you.”
I could already guess what he would ask.
“Did that mage mention anyone else besides my brother?”
Black mages were like cockroaches.
If you found one, there were always more nearby.
Now that Markel’s betrayal was confirmed, Stern intended to use me to root out the other traitors within the family.
And indeed, there were many within Benheim who secretly cooperated with black mages.
If we could eliminate them all, it would give us a significant advantage in the war against the Demon King of Magic.
“Yes. The mage who gave me the pendant listed every traitor within the family.”
There was no reason to refuse.
In the short term, it might draw attention—but in the long run, it was undoubtedly beneficial.
Especially if I could earn the trust of one of the greatest archmages on the continent.
Having made my decision, I spoke calmly.
“Among the black mages were branch family members, tower researchers… and even elders of Benheim—”
“Wait.”
The moment I mentioned the elders, Stern raised his hand.
A powerful surge of mana swept around me.
An invisible barrier formed, enveloping the entire annex.
“Speak quietly. There are many eyes around.”
“I understand.”
Our conversation could no longer be overheard.
A composite spell formed from more than four runes.
If runes were words, then this was a sentence.
What I was witnessing was the pinnacle of Benheim’s unique magic system.
But it was far beyond my current level to comprehend.
“Now then… is it truly true that there are traitors among the elders?”
“Yes. The mage told me their names in detail.”
“…I see.”
Stern nodded, unable to hide his fatigue.
“Do not tell me the names yet. Now is not the time. After we capture Markel, I will devise a plan to deal with them all.”
“So you intend to catch both at once.”
“It will be dozens of rabbits, not just two.”
Stern continued calmly.
“I will soon prepare a plan to expose them all at once. I will come to you again when the time comes.”
His expression had turned cold.
Even the council of elders—the core of the family’s history and tradition—had been tainted by black magic. It was clearly a heavy blow.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Before leaving, Stern added—
“You deserve a reward for this. I’ll have it sent to you.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. It is only fair compensation.”
With that, Stern departed.
“Well… he’ll handle things.”
At the very least, Markel’s identity as a black mage had been revealed.
Unlike before, Benheim would no longer fall helplessly to the Demon King of Magic.
As for the family’s internal matters—I would leave them to Stern.
What mattered most to me now was training.
My goal: reach the 3rd circle within a month.
And that deadline was fast approaching.
“…Time to begin.”
With my newly formed mana core, breaking through to the 3rd circle wouldn’t be difficult.
Just as I was about to return to the annex to train—
“Sir Reagan, this is something the Head has sent.”
Cheryl arrived, holding out a long box with a hesitant expression.
Without much expectation, I opened it—and let out a small laugh.
“My future father-in-law is quite generous.”
Inside the box was a high-quality glass bottle, filled with a golden, translucent liquid.
It didn’t take long to recognize it.
It was an extremely pure essence of mana—like condensed life itself.
“Elixir.”
A top-tier artificial elixir, priceless beyond measure.
And now, it was right in front of me.
