My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 53

When I woke up, the world had changed quite noisily.

With a drowsy mind, I turned on my smartphone, only to see the news completely filled with one particular story.

Could it be that the Black Mage, active within the Academy, had caused the commotion?

While no victims had died, the fact that a crime targeting young students occurred in the Capital Raymond drew immense attention from the citizens.

It was comparable to the terrorist attack that had occurred at the Grant Department Store a few months ago.

-I apologize.

The press conference began with an apology from Hounds Mendelstone, President of Benedict Academy.

A red "LIVE" indicator was engraved at the top right corner of the screen, with the constant flashes of reporters' cameras making it sparkle.

The screen was uncomfortably bright for someone who had just woken up.

Adjusting the brightness of the screen, I turned up the volume and focused on his words.

"......."

To summarize what he said:

All the affected students had regained consciousness.

A simple diagnosis showed no issues with their bodies, but to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, they would be undergoing thorough examinations at Aven Hospital.

All costs for this would be fully covered by Benedict Academy.

And most importantly, the culprit, the Black Mage, was promptly apprehended by the Special Investigation Unit.

-Although the situation ended well, we cannot deny that we might have resolved it sooner if we had been more vigilant. Once again, we sincerely apologize for the concern caused.

The apology that began the conference returned at the end, as if to bookend the event.

Well, as expected, most of it was unremarkable.

For Cain, it was a topic of little interest.

News about the release of a new game would have been far more engaging.

"......."

Upon checking the comments, the public's reaction was, unlike Cain's, mostly favorable.

The prompt actions of the professors, preventing any injuries or deaths among the students, were the main reason.

If even one person had been seriously hurt or if an issue had arisen, the reaction would have been the opposite.

People would have been questioning and holding the professors accountable.

Generally, people tend to become more outraged when something happens to children.

'It seems evaluations of Black Mages will only become harsher from now on.'

Yet another Black Mage had caused trouble after the Grant Department Store incident.

Just as the shocking emergence of Cain, the pinnacle of Black Mages, had started to fade from public memory after 10 years.

Frankly, Cain did not care how others viewed Black Mages, but the thought of the Church causing a fuss again made him resolve to hide his identity as a Black Mage even more.

"Haaaaaah. The Special Investigation Unit, huh......."

Stretching, he rose from his bed.

Perhaps because he had slept in a bed rather than his study or the sofa for once.

He had woken up feeling well-rested and in an unusually good mood.

To the point where he could even overlook any tantrum the Twin Ghosts might throw, just this once.

"As if."

After listening to Arina yesterday, he was convinced Jealousy had intervened.

He wasn’t sure why Jealousy had stepped in, but there must have been a reason.

Probably something related to the Black Mage involved this time being a resurrected dead man or something similar.

And if Jealousy had intervened, the Black Mage's fate would have been handed over to the Dark District rather than the Special Investigation Unit.

Likely to Oman.

Since Oman was still somewhere in the Capital, they must have received the news by now.

The reason the news phrased it in such a manner was probably due to negotiations between the Dark District and the Elemental Kingdom.

Such negotiations between two powerful factions were classified information that the general public could never know.

'What should I eat?'

Anyway, what mattered now wasn’t such a trivial incident that had already concluded.

What mattered now was deciding what to have for lunch today.

Cain thought about ordering pizza but gave up on the idea as he looked at the side dishes already set on the dining table.

Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring.

As he was moving rice from the rice cooker to his bowl and preparing to have a late breakfast that could barely be called lunch, a call came in, making him frown.

-Masteeeeeer!!!!! Did you sleep weeeellllll!!!!

Ugh, it felt like his eardrums were about to burst.

Oman’s voice sounded even louder today.

Thanks to that, his pleasant day immediately shattered into pieces.

He thought he could ignore and endure whatever tantrum the Twin Ghosts threw.

But while he could forgive the Twin Ghosts, he was certain he could never forgive this particular individual.

That damn eardrum terrorist.

-I thought you’d be awake by now, so I called! Have you safely made it to the dining table!

What, is he a stalker?

How did he know the exact time Cain woke up and sat at the dining table?

More importantly, why did he even care about Cain’s journey to the dining table? It made no sense.

"As I always say, please, just shut up......!"

Cain’s voice was filled with considerable rage, fueled by the anger boiling from within.

Recently, he had been feeling his hearing deteriorate because of this guy.

Grinding his teeth as he recalled turning up the volume earlier while watching Hounds Mendelstone’s press conference, Cain seethed.

-I apologize. I want to calm down too, but my heart races so much every time I call Master that I can’t help it.

"That’s because you overwork yourself without sleeping, and your heart is under strain."

It was arrhythmia, no doubt.

No, just die from arrhythmia already.

-Please understand my feelings; I’m so thrilled that my voice naturally gets louder!

"Try considering my eardrums for once."

-Master is such a perfect being. How could someone like me possibly have the ability to harm you?

"......."

This crazy bastard. Was it on purpose?

Now that he thought about it, that smart guy always conveniently "forgot" and screamed into the phone every time he called.

That damned bastard.

He truly wanted to crack Oman's head open and turn him into a headless Dullahan.

"Haah, so what is it?"

What was the reason for calling this time?

Placing the smartphone on the table, Cain took a bite of rice and listened to what Oman had to say.

-I think we’ve found a clue.

"Go on."

Cain added sweet and salty stir-fried anchovies to the plain rice in his mouth.

The crispy texture of the anchovies crumbled like snacks, blending with the rice as it smoothly slid down his throat.

-We’ve investigated the places in the Elemental Kingdom where the resurrected have come back to life.

The Underworld is a place where the dead go.

A place made entirely of souls, without physical bodies.

Naturally, those who escaped from Hell to the Mortal World first appeared as souls. They unconsciously wandered the Mortal World before eventually resurrecting, which usually happened at random locations far from the entrance to the Underworld.

-Using that as a basis, we’re narrowing down where the entrance to the Underworld opened. We believe we’ll pinpoint it soon.

However, no matter how random the resurrection, it couldn’t happen at a place completely distant from the entrance.

That much was evident from the fact that most of the resurrected appeared in the Elemental Kingdom.

Investigating that would make pinpointing the entrance relatively straightforward.

So far, the resurrected individuals were mostly low-tier, below 5-star, so they resurrected slower than skilled ones, and their resurrection locations were too scattered.

But that issue could be resolved by deploying as many personnel as possible and investigating everywhere thoroughly.

"Go on."

Cain already knew that much.

It wasn’t the end, was it? His words urged Oman to continue.

As always, Oman met Cain’s expectations, continuing his explanation.

-The memories of the one Jealousy captured this time are clearer than expected.

At Oman's words suggesting that he had seen the culprit who opened a passage between the Underworld and the Mortal World, Cain's expression changed as he ate his meal indifferently.

Either fall into hell to pay for their sins,

or ascend to heaven for a brief rest before entering the cycle of reincarnation.

Any other method to return from the Underworld to the Mortal World was clearly an act of Defiance of Fate, and even Cain, the strongest Black Mage, could not easily claim to accomplish it.

While revenge was the main purpose, interest in the culprit was also one of the reasons for seeking them out.

-All I saw was the culprit, but later, when we confront the Twin Ghosts Guardians and compare the information, we might be able to identify the culprit.

"Oh, that's fine."

In response to Oman's words, Cain put down his chopsticks and spoke nonchalantly.

"I'll go to the Underworld myself and ask the King of the Underworld. You just need to find the entrance as usual."

Words spoken too lightly, yet with content that was anything but light.

At those words, Oman could not suppress the thrill running through his arms and opened his eyes wide.

It was certainly an act of Defiance of Fate for a dead person to defy the order of the world and escape from the Underworld.

However, it was also an act of Defiance of Fate for a living person to defy the order of the world and enter the Underworld.

An act that even an Absolute would find difficult to perform.

But the one who uttered those words was the person closest to death in this world, the Death King Heukcheon.

An existence with the power to make even such seemingly false words a reality.

-Yes, understood.

All Oman could do, as always, was to obey his will and prostrate himself.

For the Death King Heukcheon, the Master standing at the pinnacle of Black Mages, there was nothing impossible.

"So? Let's hear the name first. What's the culprit called?"

Even if the real name was unknown, there must be an alias they go by.

Before talking to the King of the Underworld, he needed to know what to call them.

-That is...

Oman hesitated unusually in response to Cain's question.

It felt more like he was struggling to speak rather than trying to hide something.

-...They said it was beings commanded by the 'Immortal King'.

"What?"

And at Oman's next words, Cain's brows furrowed.

A name that felt strangely familiar.

It was the name mentioned by the Black Mage who had left only an Ego to threaten him when Cain first awakened his Supernatural Power and Black Magic.

The Black Mage who had caused a faint memory of that threat.

'I thought it was just a nobody with a fancy name since I hadn't heard of it since then.'

The same name that the Black Mage who had caused the Dark Wave had mentioned.

Could this really be a coincidence?

There was no way it could be.

-We were about to start investigating again...

"...Interesting."

A smile spread across Cain's face at those words.

An existence whose name was not known even through the information network of the Dark District.

A person who had eluded detection for years after his older sister's death and only now showed a trace.

And even the extraordinary feat of piercing a hole between the Underworld and the Mortal World.

Wasn't it a performance worthy of being called the mastermind behind the scenes?

"Don't bother with that."

There would be nothing more to come out of it anyway.

How much had he investigated the identity of the Immortal King in the past?

Cain had even sent an investigation team to the Ice Wasteland, which had become an uninhabitable barren land due to the Ice Queen's awakening of her Supernatural Power.

Yet, no information about the Immortal King or whatever it was had been discovered.

It must have been intentionally erased from all records.

Just as the Forensic Team could not uncover the information erased by Jealousy, it was no easy task to find information deliberately erased by a skilled person.

Especially if a long time had passed, to the extent that it was impossible to know when they had died.

'It's better to just ask the King of the Underworld directly.'

There was no reason to dispatch personnel for a fruitless endeavor.

-Yes, understood.

"Still, don't stop the pursuit. Knowing who the culprit is won't help if we don't know where they are."

Hopefully, the Twin Ghosts Guardians would have some connection to the Immortal King or whatever it was.

The Twin Ghosts Guardians included many Martial Artists above the 6th rank.

As mentioned earlier, the stronger the Martial Artist, the stronger their Ego, allowing them to settle in the Mortal World more quickly.

Among them, there might be someone who knew the exact location of the passage to the Underworld.

'The Immortal King...'

What kind of bastard was he, really?

Two years had passed since his older sister's death.

Finally, a smile spread across Cain's lips as the clues about the culprit began to fit together perfectly.