Mike slowly pushed the gate open.
The old metal gate creaked loudly—
"eeeehhh…"
"eeeehhh…"
The sound echoed deep into the darkness ahead.
Beyond the gate… there was nothing.
Only endless darkness that looked ready to swallow anything that entered it.
But Mike did not stop.
Not even for a second.
He walked straight inside as if he had entered this place hundreds of times before.
As if darkness itself feared him more than he feared it.
The moment he stepped inside—
"THAMM…!"
The gate slammed shut behind him.
The heavy sound shook the entire room.
Now there was only silence.
Cold… empty silence.
Then—
"clap…"
A single clap echoed through the darkness.
At the same moment, dim golden lights slowly began to appear around the hall.
The light spread little by little, revealing shadows hidden in the dark.
Mike lifted his eyes forward.
Seven people sat in front of him.
None of them spoke.
None of them moved.
Yet their presence alone made the entire room feel heavy.
The air itself felt cold.
Not normal cold—
the kind that slowly crawled into your bones.
Then a deep voice echoed through the hall.
"Mr. Celester…"
"This time as well… you caused quite a disaster."
"You failed to protect even the knights fighting beside you."
"Because of you… many people died."
Mike remained standing quietly.
There was no anger on his face.
No excuse.
No guilt.
Only a calm and controlled expression.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
"Mr. Cha…"
"Please do not call me by my family name."
Silence filled the room for a second.
Then suddenly—
"HAHAHAHA…!"
A loud laugh echoed across the hall.
Mr. Seyost leaned back in his chair while laughing.
"So not Mr. Celester…"
"Should we call you Mr. Mike instead?"
A mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Fine then."
"Tell us something first…"
"Did you find any solution to your curse?"
Mike's eyes lowered slightly.
"…Not yet."
The moment he answered, Seyost immediately spoke again.
"You see that, Mr. Hardson?"
"We invested so much into him."
"We gave him resources… knights… support…"
"And what did we get in return?"
"Another disaster."
Hardson remained calm.
Unlike Seyost, his expression did not change at all.
"If Mike had not been there…"
"The number of deaths would have been much higher."
"But all of you are only blaming him."
Before Seyost could answer—
"Enough."
Another heavy voice interrupted them.
The entire room instantly became silent again.
"We did not call him here to argue."
"We called him here because we want answers."
The voice became colder.
"This 'Seventh Stage Spell'…"
"Where did you get it from?"
Everyone's eyes turned toward one man sitting near the center.
Steve Celester.
Hardson slowly smiled while looking at him.
"How interesting…"
"Steve Celester himself wishes to know where his 'son' learned such magic."
"THAM!"
Steve slammed his hand onto the table so hard that the sound echoed throughout the hall.
"He is NOT my son!"
"Mr. Hardson…"
"Stop calling him my son."
His voice carried pure anger.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Mr. Cha calmly took control again.
"Everyone… calm down."
"I will ask the questions."
"Save your arguments for later."
A chair slowly moved.
"chhhhh…"
Mr. Cha leaned slightly forward and stared directly at Mike.
"Mike…"
"Where did you get the Seventh Stage Spell?"
"Steve claims no such spell exists within the Celester family."
"So either…"
"You learned it from somewhere else…"
"Or…"
His voice became colder.
"You already know what that means."
The atmosphere instantly became heavier.
Even the air felt difficult to breathe.
Yet Mike remained completely calm.
His voice was clear and steady.
"I did not learn that spell from anyone."
"Nor did anyone teach it to me."
A short silence followed.
Then Mike spoke again.
"I created it myself."
The room froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
Then whispers slowly began spreading across the hall.
"What…?"
"A Seventh Stage Spell… created by himself?"
"That's impossible…"
"No one at his age should be capable of that…"
Steve immediately stood up in anger.
"That is nonsense!"
"Creating a Seventh Stage Spell requires impossible levels of knowledge!"
"No one can create one so casually!"
"He's lying!"
But Mike's expression did not change even slightly.
His eyes remained emotionless.
"I only knew one thing."
"That Seventh Stage magic was powerful."
"That's all."
"Nobody taught me anything beyond that."
Silence returned once more.
This time even Seyost stopped mocking him.
Because if Mike was telling the truth…
Then the person standing before them was far more dangerous than they imagined.
Mr. Cha quietly observed Mike for several seconds before asking another question.
"What about your curse?"
"Has anything changed?"
For the first time, Mike's eyes showed a faint trace of exhaustion.
He took a slow breath before answering.
"…No."
"There is still no solution."
The room became silent again.
Some of the people sitting there looked away.
Some simply stared at him quietly.
A curse powerful enough to destroy its owner from within…
And yet Mike still stood there alive.
Mr. Cha slowly stood up from his chair.
"Very well."
"Alya must have already informed you."
"So finish it as quickly as possible."
"If we delay any longer…"
"…things will become difficult for everyone."
Mike silently nodded.
Mr. Cha turned around and slowly disappeared back into the darkness behind him.
One by one, the others also began leaving the hall.
Seyost laughed lightly before walking away.
Hardson gave Mike one final glance before disappearing into the shadows.
Steve did not even look at him.
He simply walked away in silence.
Soon…
The massive hall became empty again.
Only Mike remained standing there alone.
The golden lights flickered weakly around him.
For the first time since entering the room…
The calm expression on his face slightly cracked.
His hand slowly tightened into a fist.
"Five years…"
His quiet voice echoed softly through the empty hall.
"Only five years left…"
A faint pressure slowly spread from his body.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something heavier.
"…I need to hurry."
Mike slowly turned around and started walking toward the gate again.
Each step echoed through the silent hall.
"tham…"
"tham…"
"tham…"
The darkness ahead looked endless.
As if it was waiting for him.
As if no matter how far he walked…
it would always follow him.
Mike stopped in front of the gate for a brief second.
Then he slowly placed his hand on it.
The gate creaked open once again—
"eeeehhh…"
Cold wind entered the hall from outside.
Without looking back even once…
Mike walked out into the darkness.
And behind him—
The gate slowly closed once more.
"THAMM…"