My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 49

The direct clash of the Reverse World unfolded at close proximity to the black sphere, ensuring it did not affect the children floating above the polygon.

The force exerted by Professor Carlson pierced through and utterly shattered the world created by the opposing Black Mage.

A world slowly crumbling and breaking apart.

The gravity that had been pulling the Wasted Mana extracted from the children into one place disappeared in an instant, causing the mana, which had been gathered in a spherical shape, to begin shaking with extreme instability.

This instability was destined to lead to a massive Great Explosion.

On scale alone, the self-destructive mechanism of this Reverse World, with mana equivalent to nearly a 6th Rank, rapidly spread and detonated in all directions.

This unique feature of the Reverse World distinguished it from others, and Professor Carlson had, of course, anticipated this as well.

Fwoosh!

Professor Carlson wrapped his own Reverse World around the black sphere.

The Reverse World encompassed the sphere to prevent the explosion’s aftermath from reaching the satellites of other students.

Various curses melted into that world clung to the sphere like stakes and chains, completely rejecting its entry into his own world.

Rumble.

A repulsive force pushing outward replaced the gravitational pull that had been drawing inward.

The black sphere was forcibly compressed by Professor Carlson.

The mana, unable to find a place to go, continued to shake unstably and lashed out wildly in all directions.

Crack!

And soon, it extended beyond the collapsing Digital Realm, spilling into the outer real world.

"Well, the rest should be handled by the other professors."

Protect the students.

Destroy the opponent's Reverse World.

And expel the perpetrator from this world.

With these three tasks completed, Professor Carlson felt he had fulfilled his duty.

The rest was now up to the other professors outside.

"Ah, was I a step too late?"

Just as he was relaxing, assured that the situation had been resolved, a mysterious voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

Perception slowed to an extreme degree.

It felt as if time itself had come to a halt.

Jeon Reidel stood frozen, seemingly unaware of the intruder’s presence.

Someone swiftly brushed past them, muttering as they moved.

"Well, it doesn’t matter."

There wasn’t even time to confirm their identity.

Before the 7th-ranked Black Mage could even react, a shadow leaped into the unstable, swirling black sphere.

Watching the shadow escape the world along with the exploding black sphere, Professor Carlson’s brow furrowed deeply.

'Who was that?'

It wasn’t the perpetrator.

Judging by how they had so effortlessly overwhelmed him, they were at least an 8th Rank superhuman.

Why had such an entity appeared in this world?

In what felt like a fleeting encounter, Professor Carlson stared at the black magic power spilling into the outside world, overcome with a lingering unease.

* * *

'Impressive.'

Even from a distance, the waves of magic power tingled against the skin.

The Negative Dimensional Magic Power surged so violently that, despite wearing a restraint device on the ankle, the magic power felt as if it were being inhaled through the nose, rendering the restraint meaningless.

The waves of magic power felt as unpleasant as inhaling cigarette smoke.

If it detonated properly, the bomb’s power could obliterate not only the academy but the entire surrounding area, as the ritual rapidly materialized around it.

The one orchestrating the ritual was Professor Magnus.

Unlike the Spell Puzzle he had assigned as homework, this ritual was so complex that it weaved organically into a single magic circle.

"Hmm."

Even Maril, who stood beside Arina, swallowed nervously and shook her head, unable to interpret even half of the magic circle’s ritual.

This was the true seriousness displayed by a high-level magician.

The magic circle emanating from Professor Magnus’ hands initially suppressed and contained the explosion’s impact.

Crack.

Of course, being created on the spot, its effectiveness was limited.

The magic circle couldn’t fully contain the explosion and began to crack.

But that was fine.

It had already bought enough time for the other professors to prepare.

Vrooooom!

Starting with Professor Magnus’ magic circle, numerous others quickly surrounded the black magic power, emanating in waves.

The thoroughly restrained black magic power was sealed, unable to move an inch.

"Aaaaaaagh!"

Above it, a distorted black shimmer, its features indistinguishable, rose with a scream and glared ferociously at the professors blocking its path.

This was the Black Mage responsible for the incident.

By dissolving their body into a Spirit Body through black magic, they had hidden themselves beyond the Digital Realm.

The appearance of this sinner, who had threatened the students, filled the professors’ faces with anger.

'I can’t get caught like this!'

After everything they had done to get this far.

Escaping Hell through the passage created by that individual, they had operated with extreme caution.

They had caused chaos in the zoo built by Ern Benedict and were just beginning to extend their reach back out into the world.

And now, to be caught so easily before their plans even truly began?

'Don’t be ridiculous!'

They weren’t afraid of being captured.

They weren’t even afraid of dying.

But the fear of failing to achieve their goal was paralyzing.

This was the task entrusted to them by the one who had pulled them out of Hell.

And that individual never tolerated failure.

'Dying won’t simply end this!'

That being was a colossal evil that had turned Hell into chaos.

Even fleeing to Hell wouldn’t free them from his influence.

Failure would inevitably exact its price someday.

They had to escape, no matter what.

But no matter how fiercely they struggled to survive, the magic circles surrounding them didn’t budge an inch.

It was only natural.

Although the Reverse World created by sharing the students’ mental and magical energy reached a level comparable to 6th Rank, their actual realm was 5th Rank.

At Benedict Academy, one had to be at least 5th Rank to qualify as a professor.

While not all professors were present due to individual schedules, those gathered here were all magicians with power ranging from 5th to 6th Rank.

'I need to create an opening.'

Thus, what they needed for escape was a variable.

Even a tiny gap in the magic circle would suffice.

There was still an opportunity.

Fueled by that belief, the Black Mage struggled even harder.

The trembling magic power caused the fallen students’ bodies to heave more violently.

And then, the students began to rise with grotesque movements.

The Negative Dimensional Magic Power seeped into their bodies, forcibly controlling them while their consciousnesses remained dormant.

"Necromancy!"

The essence of necromancy was to imbue dead bodies with an ego and control them.

This could range from creating higher egos, like Death Knights or Liches, using the memories the dead bodies retained in life as a medium—

Or, as with the zombies that rampaged through Grant Department Store, implanting lower egos capable only of following simple commands.

In this case, the Black Mage used the students’ unconscious bodies as corpses, raising them in the latter manner.

This was possible because the shared magic power created via the Magic Boost App remained connected to them despite the exploding Negative Dimensional Magic Power.

Unlike the explosion, this aspect couldn’t be restrained by the magic circles.

"Suppress them!"

"No matter what, they wouldn't dare harm the students."

"It was a ruthless tactic, practically holding the students hostage, but even this was within the professors' expectations."

"A temporary Magic Restraint crafted by Alchemy Professor Tolthem Paracelsus."

"With the manifestation of Necromancy, the magic tools preemptively placed on the students' wrists activated, forcibly severing their magic power from any external connection."

"The principle of shared magic power was ultimately the same as basic magic accumulation."

"The only difference was whether the source was Nature's magic or someone else's magic."

"By disrupting the circulation of magic power between the external and internal sources using the Magic Restraints, the connected Network would naturally be severed as well."

"Even though the temporary restraints were vastly inferior in performance compared to the ones used by the police, they were sufficient to thwart the Black Mage's schemes."

"Damn."

"The Black Mage cursed at the sight."

"What seemed like a decent move was subdued before it even properly began."

"To make matters worse, the Magic Circle was contracting, further limiting the range in which the Black Mage could operate."

"The reason the Black Mage posed such a threat to everyone in the first place was the existence of the irrational Reverse World."

"It was exceedingly difficult for a Black Mage to overpower a Magician through pure ritual combat."

"Damn professors!"

"The Reverse World had been shattered."

"It was now a struggle even to release the Negative Dimensional Magic Power externally, let alone cast any curses."

"The students, who were connected through their minds, became useless even before they could be utilized."

"Now, there was no way left."

"Just a small opening, that's all I need."

"Hm?"

"At that moment, the Black Mage's expression turned puzzled."

"From somewhere, his magic power was leaking."

"Where could it be going?"

"The damned Magic Circle set up by those Academy professors was supposed to be perfectly sealed without a single gap."

"The Black Mage focused his mind, feeling a sense of bewilderment."

"And soon, his eyes widened in realization."

"It turned out there was something else."

"Another exit existed, separate from the one the professors were guarding."

"'Have they given up?'"

"The Black Mage's resistance quieted down."

"Professor Scape narrowed her eyes at the unexpectedly swift surrender."

"Though it was natural to give up when no other options remained, given his behavior up to this point, giving up so easily was clearly suspicious."

"......."

"Professor Magnus also regarded it with suspicion."

"The Negative Dimensional Magic Power was diminishing with unusual ease."

"Professor Magnus watched the Black Mage, who was gradually revealing his true form from within the blackened shimmer, with a cautious gaze."

"And the moment she noticed even the silhouette wavering, she shouted as if realizing something."

"We must stop him!"

"Come to think of it, it existed."

"Another smartphone, besides the ones gathered here."

"The other exit that Heming, who had rushed to the hospital upon hearing news of his son, carried with him."

"Damn it!"

"That was there?!"

"It was like blocking the main entrance thoroughly, only to overlook an emergency exit."

"Professor Scape was flustered by the unexpected situation."

"They were caught in a dilemma."

"The Black Mage's actions needed to be stopped, but if the Magic Circle was lifted, the yet-to-be-stabilized Negative Dimensional Magic Power would erupt in all directions."

"'If we send the students out of the auditorium immediately.......'"

"No, that's impossible."

"There wasn't enough time to move all the unconscious students."

"It was obvious the Black Mage would escape before the evacuation was complete."

"'Could it be possible?'"

"Doubt crept in."

"Could they truly subdue the Black Mage before the explosion spread after breaking the Magic Circle?"

"No, could they block it properly without causing harm to the students in the process?"

"That thing, which had power comparable to a 6-star Great Magic in sheer force?"

"'There's no other way anyhow.'"

"They had no choice."

"They couldn't just let the Black Mage escape like this."

"Thinking so, Professor Scape circulated her magic power to push her physical body to its limits."

"I'll go in. Prepare yourselves."

"The other professors swallowed their uneasiness at Professor Scape's words."

"Time was running out."

"Each professor quickly calculated the rituals they needed to modify within the Magic Circle."

"That urgency among the professors spread to the students as well."

"Arina clasped her hands in front of her chest, unable to hide her anxious feelings."

"......!"

"Something swiftly brushed past her side."

"It was Tokun Masao, recklessly dashing forward toward where the professors were."

"Beside the startled Arina, Maril let out a small gasp as if she realized something."

"'Now that I think about it, he was here!'"

"Then, looking at Arina, she urgently shouted."

"Take off your Magic Restraint!"

"Huh?"

"Now, hurry!"

"Though unsure of the reason, Arina quickly removed the Magic Restraint strapped to her ankle at Maril's urgent cry."

"Arina handed the restraint to Maril without even having time to adjust to her abruptly heightened affinity."

"Maril, taking it, suddenly ran forward and threw it with all her strength toward Tokun, who was charging ahead."

"Catch it! That's his true form, so a temporary Magic Restraint won't properly restrain him like it did the other students!"

"In the end, the only method was to break through the stagnant Negative Dimensional Magic Power and bind the Black Mage with the Magic Restraint, cutting off all shared magic power."

"That was exactly what Professor Scape intended to do."

"But her doing it personally posed definite risks."

"However, Tokun Masao was different."

"If he acted, it would be possible to approach the Black Mage without the Negative Dimensional Magic Power spreading."

"No matter how strong the power was, as long as it was magic, it was useless in front of him."

"'Thanks.'"

"Without even looking, Tokun caught it effortlessly, his gaze cold as he fixed on the fleeing Black Mage."

"'Who dares to target me?'"

"Running toward where Andy was?"

"Don't make me laugh."

"That, I will never allow."

"I will stop him at all costs."

"A powerful determination, mixed with resolve and stubbornness."

"In front of Tokun, a pure white sword materialized midair and settled into his grasp."