The absolutely invincible Cheoriban.

He is an exceptionally unique black mage. Perhaps, out of the countless characters in *Aether World Online*, none are as distinct as he is.

Once, players attempted to categorize characters’ abilities, not by mere stats, class, or rank, but with a system that humorously quantified their combat power into numbers.

Players pooled their subjective assessments to calculate specific attributes such as attack power, defense, speed, and utility, but the most critical factors were inevitably "magic attack power" and "defense."

For instance, a 9th-class mage’s average combat power was around 100, with Eltermine Eltrin having an attack power of 120 and defense of 80, while Flower-Embedded had an attack power of 90 and defense of 130.

These metrics generally made sense to most players, though naturally, some disagreed.

After all, these figures were subjective opinions. However, one combat power that everyone universally acknowledged without dispute was:

**[Cheoriban]**  
- Risk level: 9  
- Black Mage  
- Magic Attack Power: 10  
- Magic Defense Power: 300

Cheoriban.

Looking at these stats alone, he appears incredibly unusual. His attack power is barely that of a novice mage, yet his defense level is among the highest in existence.

To put it simply, for his "pure defense" to be overcome, it would take at least two or three 9th-class mages working together.

Doesn't that sound overpowered?

Not entirely.

His ability, **[Thought Control]**, allows him to intercept and take control of his opponent's magic, wielding it as his own.

Another skill, **[Tamgaltwin’s Blessing]**, provides him with perfect defense and counterattacks against all types of attacks.

Cheoriban’s powers, in a way, are dependent not on himself but on his opponents.

In other words, if Cheoriban attempted to kill someone, and that person merely defended without retaliating, the battle would remain at a standstill.

But what if…

All of Cheoriban’s defensive abilities were stripped away? Suppose he were actually facing a scenario where his "absolute defense" began to crack against two 9th-class mages simultaneously?

“Oh my—so even the absolutely invincible Cheoriban can get hurt once his shield is peeled away?”

“…Cough!”

Cheoriban wiped the blood trickling from his mouth with his sleeve as Soya taunted him with a mocking smile.

“A spirit killer, are you…?”

Unlike his tense battle against Aruun and Flower-Embedded, Cheoriban’s gaze now held a deadly calm.

But Soya, with an amused glint in her eyes, seemed unaffected.

To her, the Cheoriban before her was nothing more than a tiger with no teeth.

‘That brat was right.’

The weakness Baek Yuseol had mentioned about Cheoriban was surprisingly simple. His vulnerability wasn’t a physical weak spot or a traumatic trigger—it was his “personality” itself.

‘No matter who he’s up against, he always fights with his full strength…’

If someone with a power level of 100 fought against an opponent with a mere 10 power, using just 15 would be more than enough to win.

But not for Cheoriban. “Absolute defense” wasn’t such a convenient ability.

Even when facing a threat with only a fraction of his power, he would always fight with everything he had—all 300 of his strength.

So what if his opponent was two 9th-class mages?

“How does it feel to have your precious shield broken? Hm?”

Soya asked, grinning, while Cheoriban subtly clenched and unclenched his fists, checking his mana reserves.

‘So… she was lying in wait for this chance.’

He had been pursuing the spirit-killer with the intent to kill, but he hadn’t once considered that the prey might turn around and strike.

Any black mage would be aware of his invincible body.

But what if Aruun and Flower-Embedded had shared information about him beforehand?

He had no idea how they had managed to obtain such intelligence… but it wasn’t entirely impossible that they’d counterattack. Currently, his mana was nearly depleted, and Tamgaltwin’s blessing was barely activating.

‘Impressive strategy, and fast information.’

Something felt off.

Soya, the spirit-killer.

To the untrained eye, she might seem an impressive black mage… but according to Cheoriban’s insight, she lacked genuine intellect.

A strategic plan? Scheming?

It didn’t make sense that such a reckless woman, who chased after fleeting pleasures at the cost of her life, would be capable of this.

“Who’s backing you?”

Cheoriban’s voice dropped, his words sharp, and Soya’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

For a moment, she was overwhelmed by his aura.

“Backing me? Hmph, do you think I’d need one? I move by my own will!”

“Is that so…”

“Talking big, when you’re practically out of strength!”

In a sweeping motion, Soya raised both her arms. A nauseating, dark-red magic circle pulsed around her.

This magic was unlike anything used by typical mages.

It was a power born of the black mages’ pact with the **Other Side**, blended with the witch’s magic to create an original ability.

**[Thought Interference]**

A sly smile crept onto Soya’s lips.

‘No worries. I can do this.’

In a distant, faded memory, even the spirit Ifanel had fallen to her power.

Though Ifanel was defenseless, just shy of shedding her mortal form to become a spirit, Soya had still won.

‘I can corrupt a spirit!’

*Crack! Crackle!*

Her dark mana spread in every direction, slowly consuming everything around it.

Rock, trees, grass, flowers, butterflies, doves, cicadas, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide…

Visible and invisible alike, everything around her, collectively referred to as all things, fell under her influence.

Her power was the ability to interfere with anything that existed in the world.

She could manipulate living people as puppets, control corpses as avatars, and even interfere with spirits to steal their hearts.

‘I’m the only one who’s merged the magic of the Other Side with witchcraft in this world!’

It was impossible for her to lose.

The price of her magic was her life itself, but if she could deal with Cheoriban here, then she would fully absorb the **Spirit’s Heart**.

She might even gain an immortal body unrestricted by lifespan.

‘If I could just remove this life span limitation… I’d be invincible!’

*Boom! Rumble!*

Invisible air pressed down on Cheoriban like a fist, while carbon from the ground crystallized, grabbing his ankles with the hardness of diamond to immobilize him.

*Whoosh!*

Wind whipped up around her.

Clouds in the sky slowly gathered above Cheoriban’s head.

While she couldn’t control the climate…

*Crackle! Crash!*

Summoning lightning to strike down was no problem for her.

*Clatter!*

The earth twisted and swirled like a vortex, pulling Cheoriban into the ground. To interfere with all things is to control the elements themselves.

It was practically…

“Isn’t this practically godly power? Don’t you think so, Baek Yuseol?”

Soya yelled as she summoned more dark mana.

‘Once I’m free of this life span restriction, I…!’

She would become truly invincible.

Suddenly, as if time had stopped, everything came to a halt.

“W-What…?”

The air, the whirling leaves, the swirling earth, the turbulent clouds—

Everything was frozen.

‘What… what is this…?’

Did time stop?

No.

It was an illusion.

Time hadn’t stopped.

Everything she controlled—all things she interfered with—had escaped her command, frozen by someone else’s will.

‘What…?’

Her pupils trembled violently.

When she took a step back, the sound of grass rustling filled the silence.

If time had truly stopped, no sound would have been heard.

In other words, this was…

‘Something akin to a time-stopping… thought control…?’

A level of thought control even higher than her own.

**[Thought Control]**

*Crunch!*

The ground’s vortex, which had soared as if to touch the heavens, subsided, and the furious winds stilled.

Standing there was Cheoriban.

With a weary expression, he reached out and touched a floating leaf.

“Do you know something?”

“W-What…”

With a simple flick, the leaf split in half.

“What…”

What was he trying to do?

Before she could think further—

“Ugh, urgh… Aaagh!”

Soya clutched her throat, collapsing in agony.

Her throat? Was the source of the pain her throat?

Her wrist? Waist? Thigh? Head?

She couldn’t tell.

Despite the overwhelming pain, she couldn’t identify exactly where it hurt.

“To interfere with all things, you must always imbue it with a part of your soul…”

Cheoriban’s voice was soft, almost bored.

“That’s the limitation of ‘interference.’”

What was he talking about?

She tried to speak, but couldn’t. Her mouth, or the sense that should have been her mouth, seemed to shatter in sync with the stone crushed beneath Cheoriban’s foot.

“Guh…”

Soya collapsed, saliva dripping as she crawled across the ground.

“Keugh… Keh!”

She had to release her thought interference. She had to retract all her dark mana.

But…

She couldn’t.

“…Sorry, but I’ve already taken control.

 It would be best to give up on any escape attempts.”

Abilities that interfere with others are rare. But if two such mages ever met… they would need to act wisely.

If one’s power was superior to the other’s, the lesser mage would find their ability completely sealed.

Strictly speaking, Cheoriban’s power wasn’t inherently stronger than Soya’s.

The difference lay in “experience.”

Initially, he could only control a single leaf. But with only that meager ability, Cheoriban had trained his thought control to the extreme.

All to survive, he practiced over and over.

Through this, Cheoriban honed his thought control to its limits.

Could Soya possibly overpower him?

Absolutely not.

Purely because of experience and skill, despite capturing a chance to win, Soya’s abilities were utterly trampled.

*Crack!*

As Cheoriban crushed rocks, shattered air, and splintered branches, Soya convulsed in agony.

Even losing consciousness was impossible.

He knew precisely when a black mage would die or fall unconscious. He had watched so many lives slip away due to him. Because he understood this, he took his time eroding Soya’s soul.

“Killing a spirit… what a wretched thing to do, don’t you think?”

She wanted to ask why a black mage would side with a spirit.

But her mouth wouldn’t open. Her sense of mouth was shattered in sync with the stone under Cheoriban’s foot.

“Spirits aren’t things you should meddle with. I’ve been chasing you for a very long time. And finally, like fate, we meet today.”

Cheoriban looked down at her with disgust.

“It’s tragic, isn’t it? I never imagined our abilities would overlap…”

Both Soya and Cheoriban had thoroughly concealed the true names of their abilities.

“But this… is terribly unsettling. Even after catching you, I can’t shake the feeling that someone who knows us both well set this up.”

Despite her wit, Soya was a woman who valued her life. That’s why she survived as a fugitive for so long.

Why would such a woman suddenly attack him? Someone must have clouded her judgment.

Sweet words whispered in her ear.

“…Don’t you think so too? You, who’ve been hiding and watching all this time.”

Cheoriban looked up, staring in a particular direction.

Though undetectable by standard magic senses, Cheoriban knew it was there due to his thought control.

“You tried to control the whole area. But curiously, there was a single spot beyond your reach—the very space you’re standing in.”

It was a baffling experience, even for Cheoriban.

From a distance, a young man emerged.

He wore the uniform of Stella Academy.

Even after so many years away from the world, Cheoriban recognized it immediately.

And he also knew who it was.

“Baek Yuseol, is it? I’ve heard of you…”

Seeing the darkly intense look on the boy’s face, Cheoriban smiled for the first time in a long while.

“You’re even more dangerous than I thought.”