The Protagonists Are Murdered by Me

Mazellion gnawed at his nails and looked around the hall. Unlike before, where he felt superior while basking under everyone's envious glances, now he was sweating profusely, trying to figure out how to overcome this situation. He was well aware that as soon as Rañasel brought the magic tool, installed it in the middle of the room and activated it, his black mana circles would be exposed, cementing his death.

However, in the middle of the terrible pressure pressing down on his shoulder,

[‘Protagonist Correction' has been activated.]

Mazellion suddenly remembered his past life. The memory which came up was something he had completely forgotten about until a few seconds ago. He was grateful and elated since the memory suited very well with the predicament he was currently facing.

‘If you want to live even if you give up all your black magic, use this method!'

The raspy voice of his teachers who first taught him about black magic echoed inside his mind. It was a ridiculous notion, he thought. No magicians in the world would ever want to lose their magic. They would rather choose death than sacrifice their hard-earned magic. But what if there was a reason to give up magic and live? In the case of warlocks, there were often times when they would have to sacrifice their magic to live. The method they used was a spell called ‘circle break'. Just like its name implies, it destroys all the circles spinning around one’s heart!

Once used, they wouldn’t be able to build the destroyed mana circles ever again. Fortunately, Mazellion had two types of mana circles rather than one.

‘It's a waste to give up on the black mana circle, but it's better than dying!' He thought. Black mana was a type of mana which was considerably denser than the normal white or blue mana. It was proven by the fact that even when he currently only had 3 black mana circles, the power it had was at the same realm as 4 to 5 normal mana circles. In other words, together with his normal 4 circle, even if he competes against a 6 circle magician, he could stand his ground. And if the situation was favourable to him, he could even defeat a 7 circle Archmage!

However, in this hall, there were as many as two 7 circle Archmage. On top of it, there were also hundreds of wizards who could be called geniuses in their own rights. It was simply impossible for him to beat all of them alone. Sacrificing his black mana circle was the only option he had.

‘Damn it. If I had had one more year, I would have regained my former state, killed everyone in this place, and destroyed the evidence…' Mazellion gritted his teeth as he thought about it. Losing his black mana circle was a very painful loss, but it couldn't be helped. It was far better than dying again.

As soon as he figured out what he should do, Mazellion left the hall. No one could leave the seminar hall, but it doesn’t mean that the garden was also off limits.

‘If I do it here, the residual black mana from destroying the circle won’t spread to the venue.’

Settling down in this desolate garden, Mazellion instantly spinned the 3 black mana circles in full force.

“Keukk…!” A subdued groan leaked through his mouth. His whole body was sweating. Circle break was something which was accompanied by excruciating pain and a great sense of loss. But for survival, those were something he would gladly take. After all, just by continuing living, he would be able to enjoy many things that couldn’t even be compared to his black circle. Becoming the head of the world's most prestigious magic family, and enjoying a life full of love with the world's most mysterious and beautiful magician girl, Aracelli.

‘That’s alright, as long as I survive, all of those will be mine!’ Mazellion clenched his teeth and focused. Slowly, the black mana circle around his heart began to crack.

Accompanied with a cracking sound only he could hear, one of the circles shattered. The residual mana leaked out to the air in the shape of black smoke. It lingered in the air for a few moments before disappearing without a trace.

With another crack, the second circle also collapsed. A sense of loss washed over him. It was as if he had lost all of the limbs he had used all his life. Or perhaps even worse than that. Along with that sense of loss, a pain worse than before assaulted his body. More black mana flowed out and disappeared.

It was a flawless act of erasing evidence. The magicians here did not even know how to detect the black mana remaining in the air, so even if the black mana sensor starts working, no one will know that it was even there.

‘The last one!'

Crack-!!

Spider’s web-like crack ran all over the last black mana circle around his heart. After shaking uncontrollably for a few heartbeats, it shattered.

“Heukkkk!” Immediately after, Mazellion fell to his front. With all of his remaining power, he forced his hand to support his collapsing body by putting it against the ground. The veins around his eyes had burst, tears of blood were running through his face. But amidst the exhaustion and pain, Mazellion smiled happily. The black mana circle around his heart had completely disappeared! Once he returned to the hall, he would once again bask in the glory he felt earlier that day without any worry. Only a flowery path was waiting for him from here and out.

Whoosh-!!

“Ugh-huh!?” However, at that time, a light-based spell pierced through Mazellion’s abdomen. The ultra-high heat spell instantly cauterized his wound, leaving only a gaping hole. But the pain wasn't going anywhere. Mazellion grabbed his stomach and lifted his head.

‘It's an incredibly high-speed attack which won't even allow my mana shield to activate…!'

When a high-level wizard was hit by a magic that he wasn't prepared for, the circle around their heart would automatically activate a mana shield to protect them. Even though he had quite a bit of practical experience with it, he didn't notice this attack at all.

‘The caster is at least 7 circles. Who the hell…!' Mazellion sweated as he thought about that. He slowly forced his head to turn into the direction where the spell was coming from. When he saw the figure who was standing there, he couldn’t help but be surprised. She was someone he knew; someone he loved; and someone he cherished the most in this life. Still wrapped in the maid suit, Aracelli was standing there with her finger pointing at him indifferently. But, for some reason, her hair wasn’t as dark as night anymore. It was as white as snow. The lingering amount of sparkling mana gathered on her fingertips made it clear that she was the one who used the magic that had just pierced his abdomen.

“A-aracelli. Why are you…! Aren't we in love with each other?"

“Please wake up from your delusion.”

"Huh?" Mazellion’s heart sank as he looked at Aracelli. Gone was the shy and beautiful Aracelli he knew. Replaced by her was Aracelli who looked at him condescendingly. It was as if she was looking at a mere insect.

“I have already given my heart to someone. Who would like to date a man like you when I have a better one?”

“What, what…?” He tried to open his mouth to ask further. But before he could do so, someone appeared from behind Aracelli. It was Yoo Seodam, the heretic inquisitor from another continent.

“Yoo Seodam…” Mazellion clenched his teeth and glared at him. Heretic inquisitor? It doesn't matter. Just remembering the fact that he plotted this situation made his anger flare up. He tried to direct all of his mana into the tip of his finger as he forced his hand to move.

However, Yoo Seodam only looked at it without any interest. He casually moved his Winchester over his shoulders and watched the message floating in the air in front of him.

[The protagonist’s ability temporarily decreases!]

[Detecting change on protagonist Mazellion’s level: 183(-93)]

His stats had weakened by a lot. It was now at a level where Yoo Seodam could easily win in a direct fight. But he didn't feel like wasting his precious bullet and his or Aracelli's precious mana to end him. So, he took a step back.

“Where…!” The moment Mazellion shouted as he tried to cast a magic spell at Yoo Seodam who looked like he was about to escape, a huge barrier was created in the air, nullifying the magic he had painstakingly casted.

“…!!” Mazellion’s eyes widened as he saw the gigantic barrier. A familiar mana could be felt from it.

‘Don’t tell me…' Mazellion’s heart which was already in tattered, beating more vigorously than forever. It was not because he regained his strength or something like that. Rather, it was because he was gripped by fear.

Mazelion slowly looked to the air. Floating there was the great 7 circles Archmage, Duke Alleroden, the head of the House of Alleroden. He looked at him while the hem of his clothes fluttered.

“I am sorry, son. No, I don't think I should call you son anymore at this point." However, the truth was, he was not looking at Mazellion but at the hint of black smoke which still lingered in the air.

“Ah, uh…! This, this… is not what it looks like, it’s a misunderstanding…!”

“I am disappointed in myself for having acknowledged you for a while.”

“Damn it!!” When Duke Alleroden moved his hand, Mazellion squeezed every bit of his remaining mana. However, he only had 4 circles without his black mana circle. He was powerless.

"I should not have erased the circle…!" If that was the case, at the very least, he would be able to kill Duke Alleroden. But his regret came too late.

[You have killed a level 183 protagonist.]

[1830 days of lifespan has been paid.]

[Your current lifespan: 10128 days 16 hours 12 minutes]

[Your level has been raised by 4.]

Mazellion’s second life came to an end just like that.

* * *

With Mazellion’s death, the case was quickly closed. As a result of the incident, Duke Alleroden suffered a huge dent in his reputation while the Blue Magic Tower Master, who helped me, benefited greatly.

“Our cutie~ You can just live here as long as you want~! If there's anything you need, just tell me! This sister will deliver it to you!”

While Duke Alleroden faltered, Tower Master Jurina Rañasel was building up her power by pushing her own policies to the magic world. Because my contribution was big in the endeavour, she cared for me quite a bit. For that reason, I was being treated as a VVIP in the Blue Magic Tower while researching new skills I got from Mazellion with Araceli.

The skill name was [‘Double Circle (SSS)’.]. A common skill that was owned by protagonists in a genre related to magic. Of course, it was a skill reserved only for the protagonist while other magicians could only use a single circle.

Because of that fact, the system warned me,

[If you use the skill, ‘probability’ will accumulate around you in high quantities.]

In other words, if I ever use the skill, the chance of me turning into ‘protagonist’ would skyrocket. However, even after knowing that, I still used the skill. To be strong? No. It would certainly be a great help to me, but I didn't take it for that reason.

“You’re going to make another mana circle from now on.”

"I understand…”

My reason was because I wanted to give it to Aracelli. She was a young girl who first began wandering through dimensions in order to search for me. She had once achieved 9 magic circles and was an Archmage who went down in history. But all of her mana was frozen as a result of her fearless attempt to cross the dimension. It could be alleviated to some extent by replacing it through my ‘Ara-Sunyoung Mana Circling technique’, but there’s limits to that. That’s why this ‘double circle’ was the least I could do for Aracelli.

She had always helped me without getting or expecting anything in return. That’s why I wanted to do something for her, even a little. So, I took the risk of accumulating probability. I knew I wouldn’t turn into the protagonist with only this much probability. I only need to consume it to move to another world.

“It would be nice to move on to the next world right away, but if we move now, there’s a chance we will arrive at a different point once again. So, for the time being, let's stay together in the tower and focus on creating your second mana circle."

Perhaps it would be a more difficult and arduous journey than the time when she first created her mana circle. Because unlike me, who formed a mana circle through skill, Aracelli created hers through hard work and talents alone.

“Yes… That’s right.” She nodded his head weakly. Probably she knew how much pain she would suffer in the future. I ruffled her hair and activated the double circle to convey the concept itself clearly to her.

At that moment, a message popped up in front of me.

[You are on your way to becoming a Protagonist ~(‘_’~). Accept it (‘,’) It’s okay(⌣́,⌣̀)(^◡^ )]

“…? Professor, why did you stop suddenly?”

"No. It's nothing."

The ominous message kept bothering me, but it should be fine for now.

Not yet. I wouldn’t turn into a protagonist just yet. My intuition said so.