episode_0120

“Who are you?”

“Me?”

I immediately caught on.

Speaking with Tei’s face but Tei’s voice.

This is not Tei.

Not the words Tei would say.

Of course, I know that Tei has a strong desire to improve his skills.

I also knew that he wanted the Black Magic Stone because it excelled in enhancing skills.

But at the same time.

Tei always showed a side of him that was afraid of messing up the processing due to lack of experience every time he entrusted the Black Magic Stone.

This time, that fear was gone.

The passive side that was afraid had completely disappeared.

Only an obsession with the Black Magic Stone remained.

This is not Tei.

Or Tei is clearly under some kind of influence.

I came to that conclusion.

And when I turned my gaze to Tei’s chest.

Something strange caught my eye.

“Magic?”

Inside Tei’s chest.

Deep inside, magic was swirling.

I couldn’t detect it before my eyes were trained to see magic through learning sorcery.

As soon as I noticed it, cold sweat started to trickle down.

I immediately grabbed Tei’s shoulders.

“What are you talking about… magic?!”

“Tei usually blushes quickly when I get close without any hesitation, but you, even when my hand touches your shoulder, you just look confused. You are not Tei.”

Smack!

And then I slapped him.

The shock caused Tei to faint.

I quickly unbuttoned Tei’s clothes and began to examine the magic inside his chest more closely.

“Yujin. Right now, this feels very… criminal.”

“Be quiet. I’m concentrating.”

Strange.

Magic was embedded inside Tei’s chest.

Was it like this from the beginning?

There’s no way to know now.

Until recently, both me and Mijeong had bodies that could barely sense magic.

Sometimes, it flowed out excessively to the point where we could barely detect it.

In other words, we were at the level of ordinary people until not long ago.

The ability to properly ‘see’ and observe the color and shape of magic only came after obtaining the characteristic of ‘Sorcery Law’.

In Mijeong’s case, it was after learning the law from Gwiho.

“What is this? Is it magic flowing from the Sorcery Law towards the heart?”

But even now, when I can handle magic, the form of it is quite grotesque.

There is definitely magic there.

But its presence is very small.

It looks more like magic that unintentionally leaked out from the Sorcery Law, rather than magic actively acting inside Tei’s chest.

However, if asked whether sorcery is acting inside Tei’s chest, that is also not the case.

This magic is simply embedded inside Tei.

“It feels slimy and unpleasant.”

The more I examined the magic, the more nauseous I felt.

It seemed to be filled with a disgusting malice and was immersed in a black abyss.

If I tried to touch it with my magic, it gave a repulsive sensation of stickiness.

Even removing this magic is not an easy task.

If you forcibly pull it out, it suddenly sticks to Tei’s heart…

It feels like a living organism, even though it’s just magic.

A primitive organism with only the desire to survive.

This is definitely not something Tei originally had.

Someone intentionally put it inside Tei.

That was the conclusion I came to.

“I did the right thing by making him faint.”

If I had noticed that Tei was different than usual, I should have pretended not to know and extracted information through conversation.

But in my confusion, I blurted out “Who are you?”

Once exposed, I didn’t know what the person inside Tei’s body would do.

They might even harm themselves, a terrifying thought that urgently made me knock him out.

The self-harm level was not just a matter of self-harm; it could have been fatal.

If I hadn’t fainted, I might have been regretting and pounding the ground by now.

“Mi-jeong. How do you see it?”

“······Dirt, chest. Fidgeting, Eugene.”

“No. You should look inside.”

“······Chocolate-colored, chest. Fidgeting-”

“Not the chest, the inside. The magic inside. You should see more than me. Please.”

“······Okay.”

Swoosh.

Mi-jeong, who approached me, placed her hand on Tae’s chest.

There was almost nothing I could find out.

I was just a novice among novices as a sorcerer, having barely pierced the 0th level base as a specialty.

On the other hand, Mi-jeong had advanced to the 1st level base through her own power.

And if the levels are different, the perspective will naturally be different.

Mi-jeong could find things that I couldn’t see from that magic.

“······Feeling, bad. Magic. Trying to control, to see. Useless, even if you try.”

“I couldn’t do it either.”

“······And, this. Magic, somewhere. I feel like I’ve seen it.”

“Where?”

Where did it seem like she had seen it?

At that moment of puzzlement.

Mi-jeong raised her finger.

“······There.”

Mi-jeong pointed with her finger at my waist.

More precisely, at the gem embedded in my waist.

And this gem is······.

“Velfegor?”

A gem made of Velfegor’s magic.

.

.

.

Since when.

Tae sometimes heard a voice ringing in his head.

At first, he suspected it might be divine inspiration or a spirit.

But that suspicion quickly dissipated.

|I want to improve my skills|

|To improve my skills, I need a black gem|

|I need to get the black gem in my hands|

The voice whispers, reflecting Tae’s honest and straightforward feelings.

Perhaps due to being awake for too long, his mind was clouded, allowing him to hear his subconscious thoughts.

Tae thought so and decided not to take it seriously.

|Black gems could be found somewhere in the world, right?|

|So let’s increase the workload!|

|Take on more requests and work without rest!|

But the voice became more talkative as the days went by.

Gradually, it began to say things that were beyond Tae’s inner thoughts.

Tae reached the point of having short conversations with the ‘voice,’ but at that stage, he failed to notice anything strange.

The ‘voice’ had completely taken over Tae’s subconscious by then.

However, Tae’s mental strength was firm.

The ‘voice’ never invaded Tae’s conscious mind.

Although the ‘voice’ couldn’t pry into what Tae saw, heard, or felt, it could cloud his consciousness.

When consciousness is clouded, the subconscious naturally fills the void.

Although the ‘voice’ couldn’t take over Tae’s body, by filling his subconscious with its desires, it could indirectly influence his actions.

“Black gem······ I want a black gem······.”

Brainwashing was effective.

Before he knew it, Tae had completely forgotten why he wanted the black gem.

Regardless of skill improvement, he became fixated on the black gem itself.

Only following the dictates of the voice in his mind.

Tae worked tirelessly, taking on more and more requests.

The more gems he encountered, the higher the chance of obtaining the black gem.

As he became more famous, a variety of gems would flock to him.

Unaware that he was being manipulated by the ‘voice,’ Tae was compulsively pushing himself to the limit.

But to those around him, Tae appeared to be just an ordinary craftsman working hard.

There were some worried glances and a few words of concern, but that was all.

No one took Tei seriously.

No one noticed the magic woven inside Tei.

And then one day.

The ‘Voice’ sensed Tei’s overwhelming determination.

It was brighter than ever before.

Although unable to see or hear directly, the ‘Voice’ was certain.

Tei was definitely facing the black magic stone.

With this in mind, there was no turning back.

|Go wild. Get the black magic stone by any means necessary. Just grab it once and that will be enough!|

The ‘Voice’ scattered Tei’s consciousness, removing reason.

It solely relied on the subconscious to act.

Even if it meant using unwarranted insults and violence to seize the black magic stone.

Thunk!

“Huh? Did they faint?”

However, the outcome was completely unexpected.

Tei had fainted, losing consciousness.

And in the very next moment.

The ‘Voice’ shuddered with a chilling sensation.

Someone was precisely observing from within.

“Who are you?”

Skillfully hidden, even the shamans would not have been able to detect.

Unless they were eccentric researchers like Jibup.

The ‘Voice’ panicked.

.

.

.

“I roughly understand.”

The moment it was revealed that the master of magic was Belphagor.

Most of the questions were answered.

“Belphagor, like Sogong, is the type to operate a doppelganger.”

Among the Four Kings, Belphagor’s original power is the weakest.

Even weaker than the undead legion’s main body, the necromancer.

Given Belphagor’s nature, it is natural that he excels in creating doppelgangers.

And there is always a price to pay for creating doppelgangers.

In Sogong’s case, the main body had to share its power.

Belphagor is no exception.

However, there was a way to create a doppelganger without losing the main body’s power.

That is by borrowing someone else’s body.

An example is like Lawrence, who takes the body of a demon contractor.

Of course, this method also has two limitations.

First, those who contract with demons are all inferior beings like Lawrence, so taking their bodies would not yield much merit.

Second, even with infusing a large amount of magic into the contractor, it takes a long time for the doppelganger to adapt before it can be seized.

The stakes are low, but the time is long, so it is not an easy method.

Therefore, the most satisfying method for Belphagor is undoubtedly creating a doppelganger directly.

If a doppelganger is created with just a small amount of magic, essentially for free.

If I had thought of that method.

Wouldn’t Belphagor have thought of it and put it into action long ago?

“To create a doppelganger of Belphagor’s main body, a large amount of magic is needed. It is not something that can be gathered in a day or two. It is an amount that hundreds of shamans would gather over the years.”

From Belphagor’s perspective, there are not many ways to obtain such a large amount of magic.

One of them.

The easiest way is to find the black magic stone.

The doppelganger that was once lost by oneself, or made of magic extracted from the corpse of a deceased fellow Four King, is made of the black magic stone.

If that stone is broken down into magic again, it will yield an astronomical amount.

Belphagor would definitely go to great lengths to recover the black magic stone.

And speaking of the magic stone, there is a famous star that has been making a name for themselves worldwide.

Tei.

Known as the greatest master, Tei, who handles magic stones from all over the world, is highly likely to obtain the black magic stone.

Belphagor would have secretly manipulated Tei’s psyche with magic.

And when Tei eventually gets hold of the black magic stone and senses a large amount of magic.

This meticulous mage will immediately transform the black magic stone into particles.

And from that day on, the nightmare of the Belphagor 2x event begins.

Oh, just the thought of it is dizzying.

“Clever. If I hadn’t learned magic, and if Mijeong hadn’t reached the first level of enlightenment, we might not have noticed.”

It was quite difficult to notice.

It’s definitely the same, but it feels different.

I was hesitant as I manipulated the tei in the subconscious.

If this mage had controlled the tei from the surface, it would have been discovered soon.

It’s a vicious yet intelligent brainwashing.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Ugh.”

The problem is that knowing the identity of the mage doesn’t provide a solution.

Mijeong is still working hard to extract the mage.

The mage still clings stubbornly to Tei’s heart.

The more you try to pull it out, the more it clings to Tei’s heart.

There seems to be no way to remove this guy without breaking Tei’s heart.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Fortunately, the mage’s capabilities are limited.

Perhaps because of the small amount to avoid detection, it hasn’t completely taken over Tei’s body.

Furthermore, there is clearly no real-time communication function.

There is no possibility that the current situation is being conveyed to Belphagor.

But if my calculations are correct, with this mage’s energy, one-way communication is possible once.

That one opportunity will be used to notify Belphagor’s main body as soon as the black magic stone is obtained.

“It would be so much easier if you just came out on your own.”

“Come out on my own?”

At that moment, Mijeong, who was caressing Tei’s chest and tilting her head, spoke.

“Come out on your own. You can.”

“How?”

“What you want. Just give it to me.”

“Ah.”

I understand what Mijeong is saying.

What this mage wants.

That’s the black magic stone.

So, if I give the black magic stone to Tei?

He will automatically come out to make the particles to complete the black magic stone.

And at the same time, he will contact Belphagor’s main body.

Finally, he discovered the black magic stone and completed the particles- and contacted.

Then, if we trace that communication?

We can also find the location of Belphagor’s main body.

“Mijeong, are you a genius by any chance?”

“Peace.”

Alright.

Belphagor was probably gleeful at the thought of getting the particles for free.

But because of his conscienceless mindset of trying to take advantage of others, he messed up.

“Let’s try it. Give me the stone.”

It’s a chance to face Belphagor’s main body.

I’m a big fan of that guy.

I can’t miss this valuable fan signing event.