Chapter 53 (continued)

What?

Fan club?

I was dumbfounded.

And also, what the heck? Mad... Mad what? That name sounds just as childish as "Evil Shadow Manipulator"!

Ms. Angela gasped, "No way... you didn't know? My God, yes, you don't even answer your phone. No wonder no one has ever been able to find you all these years. I thought you were just keeping a low profile!"

Someone... someone explain this to me, what's going on? Have I time-traveled?

But Ms. Angela was only gasping for breath, pounding her chest as if she was about to faint. To prevent her from lying on the ground Reynold Reno's corpse, I had to cast a calming spell on her. But this had the opposite effect. Ms. Angela covered her mouth with her hands, rolled her eyes, and all the cool demeanor of a warden vanished.

"Oh... I can't breathe! My idol cast a calming spell on me!"

... If you keep doing this, I feel like my calming spell has failed! I feel like I'm seeing a warden version of Moli, and this gives me an unbearable headache.

Lusien raised his hand. "Please give me one too, thank you."

... I watched with a wry smile as Mel cast a calming spell on each of them, and then Lusien began to explain, "It seems you really hardly ever go online... For the past decade or so, you've been the undisputed number one on this century's 'Legendary Dark Mage Ranking'! Even Lord Madsen hasn't surpassed your achievements!"

I stared in disbelief. "What did I do? Are they really talking about me?"

"At the same time, you are also the most mysterious, most admirable, and most charismatic villain spellcaster of this century. Even the priests of the Shadow Moon Temple are not as popular as you!" Lusien said confidently. If I didn't know that knights never lie and that Lusien was a standard, qualified, and good knight, I would have thought this was the set of some kind of prank TV show.

... Describing a villain as mysterious is one thing, but words like admirable and charismatic are definitely inappropriate for describing a bad guy, aren't they?

"No, no, no." Lusien shook his head. "The 'villain' here is an affectionate term, of course. Just like we all know that the Shadow Moon Temple represents dark forces, but the priests of Shadow Moon are still noble clergy. Calling them villains is just because they use dark Divine Magic and dress in a sinister way. Doesn't that create a cute contrast? It's called 'playing with a meme'—a popular internet slang term right now. Oh, internet slang means that in a few years, we might not use that term anymore, so you can understand it as 'current trend'."

I don't know what kind of evaluation to give.

I just unleashed a massive Hellfire spell, setting everything ablaze and summoning a horde of howling demons. I even created a corpse golem that wreaked havoc all over the place. Instead of immediately arresting and imprisoning me, government officials grabbed my hands, tears streaming down their faces, and said, "We've finally found you! You're amazing! Let's take a picture together!"

I think if I haven't traveled to some chaotic time and space, it means that modern society is truly beyond redemption!

I am a dark sorcerer who wields evil magic and can kill a whole bunch of people with a wave of my hand!

"Yes!" Mel nodded. "So I knew all along that Xipei was extraordinary. You know such profound Black Magic, but when we linked our minds, I didn't sense any negative emotions from your mental world. Your consciousness remained rational and perfectly ordered, and you have such a good temper, so gentle with people... I had long suspected that you might be that amazing dark mage from back then, but because you were always reluctant to talk about the past, I didn't dare to ask... So, you were just worried that people would put a warrant for your arrest because you're a dark mage? Xipei, you're so adorable!"

No... don't say that, I'm blushing again, Mel.

"Who would hunt down a good-natured dark mage these days? You must be from another time... So, that slime in the hospital is really lucky; you actually tolerated him yelling at you for over five years!" Lusien exclaimed, "You truly deserve the title of legendary archmage!"

Oh my god! I'm about to faint too!

It's one thing for Mel to praise me, but why are you all like this? And what on earth are those comments online?

"'Flame of Fury,' that's the nickname netizens gave you!" Lusien said. "You have a lot of fans!"

"A few years ago, I even knew people who argued endlessly about whose magical skills were better, yours or mine," Mel said.

Lusien nodded. "Yes, that online flame war even caused social network servers to crash at one point."

"Of course Xipei is better!" Mel said smugly... He... he even kissed me.

... I... I've got it. I'll kiss her again when I get home.

Lusien continued, "About twenty-one years ago, a public magic elementary school in the Federation organized a field trip for its students, but the group was attacked. Three teachers were killed, and about twenty-six students went missing. And this wasn't the first time. Combined with several missing children cases reported to the central government from various localities, the Federation Corps suspected that hostile black mages were carrying out dangerous activities within its borders."

Twenty-one years ago... Yes, that was the time my teacher descended from the sky and took me away. I can't remember exactly how many of my companions were captured, because once we got to the bunker, we almost never saw each other again. At first, we were locked in individual cells at the bottom of the bunker. It was a long time before our teacher remembered us. By then, most of the children who didn't know how to make magic bread had already starved to death.

"The Federation dispatched military units, even elite forces of the Magitech Corps, to search the entire country, but to no avail. The disappearances of children did not cease, causing widespread panic for several years. Then, thirteen years ago, a sudden and powerful magical fluctuation alarmed the entire Magic Council. Subsequently, the Temple of Light, the Sanctuary of Truth, the Mages' Association, and the Arcane Magic Alliance —all mage groups—detected strong Black Magic fluctuations. Not only within the Federation, but even the Shadow Moon Temple in the far north sent envoys to inquire. Federation aerial satellites captured images of black Hellfire suddenly igniting in the forests of northwestern Federation, burning a long-hidden dark mage's lair to the ground."

Surely not... I... burned a teacher's paper money, and the whole world knows about it???

Three days later, the Hellfire died down, and all the driven undead returned to silence. The Federation Magitech Corps quickly stormed the bunker and rescued some children who had been missing for the past few months. Almost none of the children from the past could be found. According to the children's testimonies, the dangerous black mage's remains child was extremely fast.

Yes, that's when I was saved. As for my fellow disciples who were around my age, they either died in evil experiments or became accomplices of the teacher and were burned in the Hellfire with me.

Lusien shook his head in amazement. "The legion couldn't find the kind mage who killed the evil black mage and rescued the children, but the fire attracted attention. The flames were unstoppable, yet they didn't harm any innocent towns nearby. It was definitely targeting the black mage who kidnapped the children. Therefore, we speculate that perhaps a legendary mage passing by, or perhaps the parents of the abducted children, came..."

Revenge

However, we questioned several renowned mages, and they all denied it, so the true identity of 'Flame of Fury' remains a mystery... Who would have thought that after burning down the bunker, you would actually hide back in the dungeon, pretending to be weak and waiting for the Magitech Corps to rescue you?!

No... I didn't hide on purpose! It's because my teacher is very difficult to kill, and I'm cursed with thirteen curses. I'm so weak that I can only lie in the dungeon! It really wasn't intentional!

"I wasn't even sure if you could summon evil spirits and ignite the Hellfire. A few days ago, someone saw Hellfire igniting and then extinguishing outside the Capitol Building. There were rumors that the 'Flame of Fury' had reappeared. Lusien said he spotted you there, but there were so many people in the hall," Angela said. "Hellfire is very profound, but several high-ranking priests of Shadow Moon Priests can do it, so it's not particularly distinctive. Until I saw you extinguish it so easily just now— 'Flame of Fury' is the only known modern mage capable of extinguishing Hellfire on its own!"