The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 201 – Hitume Ikar (5)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
No words were spoken for a while.
Frey needed to organise his thoughts, and the being before him knew that.
‘Angels.’
He wasn’t certain, but he felt that they were similar to the rulers of hell.
‘Perhaps the Apocalypses are on par with them.’
There were a total of six rulers of hell.
‘Including Lord, there are six Apocalypses.’
Frey closed his eyes.
All of this no longer felt like just a coincidence.
Especially Lord.
His appearance had always been the most bizarre among the Demigods. Even more so than Nozdog, who was a skeleton, or Agni, who was a literal being of fire.
‘Did he unconsciously imitate the appearance of God?’
He’d heard of the Demigods’ origin from Riki, but now, he realised it was much deeper than he first thought. They were beings who were originally the inhabitants of the Celestial World.
Those were the Demigods’ true identities.
‘This is something even the Demigods don’t know.’
It was a strange feeling.
He’d always felt that the Demigods were wrapped in a kind of mysterious veil. But according to this being in front of him, even the Demigods themselves didn’t know what they truly were.
Even Lord.
This was a secret that only he knew.
Frey couldn’t help but feel a little joy at that fact.
[You seem to enjoy this more than I expected. I’m glad to see that.]
“…was this your intention? Is that why you’re telling me about the origins of the Demigods?”
[Not exactly. This is simply background information. We’re about to move on to the main point.]
His eloquence made Frey speechless once again.
‘What did he mean by next?’
The things he’d heard so far had already been extremely shocking for him. Even Frey, who could keep his composure regardless of the situation, couldn’t help but react after hearing it.
If it was anyone else who had heard this, they would have definitely shouted in shock or they would have found it hard to close their mouth.
[I need someone to help me keep the balance. A being who would always look over the world and seek harmony. Someone who would devote themselves to maintaining the stability of the world. But it’s tricky. Such talent isn’t born easily. And it’s impossible for me to manipulate the flow of fate and move time forward. Especially since I need three of them.]
Frey couldn’t help but ask when he heard this.
“Why do you need three?”
[I told you. There are three worlds in this universe. If the Celestial World hadn’t been destroyed, Michael would have been the balance. He would have played his part perfectly, and the Celestial World would have been a true paradise.]
“So the other worlds also need such an existence.”
[Exactly. I’m sure you know who held the balance for the Mortal World.]
“The Dragons.”
[Their leader was the best among them.]
He was referring to the Dragon Lord.
Frey sat down, organising his thoughts.
However, he was still worried of the possibility that this being might disappear at any moment. He had said that he was very busy, and he was stressed about how unusual it was for him to appear directly.
So if his thoughts were correct, this conversation had a time limit.
[When Lord first landed on the continent, the Dragon Lord was simply a large beast. He did not have any intelligence. Lord wasn’t very different. He had not established a sense of self and was still confused about his identity.]
Frey realised that this was a tale about tens of thousands of years ago, if not longer. The truth of the past was not recorded anywhere in the world.
It felt a bit strange to hear it from this being who claimed to be God.
[Over time, Lord’s ego was established, and the Demigods continued to fall to the continent after him. Around the same time that all the Demigods recognised him as Lord, the Dragons evolved to be the mediators of the continent.]
Dauns voice was quite humorous as he said this.
[When they realised the existence of the other, it was inevitable that conflicts would arise between them. I’m sure that even at the time, they realised that they were not compatible with each other.]
“…”
This was natural.
In those days, the Dragons were the only ones who could fight against the Demigods.
He’d heard about it from Isolla. The Demigods had never been careless or arrogant while fighting against the Dragons.
[However, the ‘law’ I created had already chosen the Dragons as the balance. Lord was a step above them when it came to aptitude, but in the eyes of the Mortal World, he was an outsider. In any case, Lord couldn’t accept this fact, so he went to war against the Dragons, and he won.]
It was only then when Frey understood.
The goal of Lord, which had always been blurry to him. And the reason why he had yet to destroy the continent despite having ample opportunity to.
“Lord’s goal is…”
[To become the balance.]
Frey closed his mouth for a moment before speaking.
“…I heard that the Dragon Lord is connected to the continent. Is this balance that you mentioned connected so deeply to the world that it shares an existence with the world?”
[That’s right.]
He’d said that the Celestial World had been destroyed. Nevertheless, Lord didn’t die.
His soul had already been absorbed by the vortex of will, and his connection to the world was severed.
Frey didn’t know the details, but in that process, the Archangel Michael died and the Demigod Lord was born.
This was the same for the Dragon Lord who was connected to the Mortal World. He lost a battle against Lord, but he didn’t die.
Although he was barely alive at the moment, he was certainly still alive.
‘Then what about the Demon World?’
Was there also a balance in the Demon World?
‘Is it one of the six rulers?’
When this question was raised.
[…]
Eyes appeared on the being’s head, and he looked at Frey with interest.
[There is someone who knows everything that I just said. Probably the only other person in the universe.]
“Who is that?”
[I already mentioned him. He was the fatal flaw in the Celestial World, and he is the one who rebelled against me.]
Dauns laughed.
[The most arrogant person in the world.]
* * *
“Jeble and Noctis have been slain.”
Beelzebub fell silent.
Jeble and Noctis were two Demons who had served him for hundreds of years.
“What is the damage on the Demigods’ side?”
“…”
Halifer, the Demon who was making the report on one knee, could not answer this question immediately.
Instead, he bit his lip quietly.
“…I’m sorry.”
Beelzebub spoke in a blank tone.
“Two High-rank Demons were lost, but there were no results?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You are not the one who has to apologise.”
After saying this, Beelzebub lowered his head. This was a habit of his whenever he was lost in thought.
Halifer had never seen Beelzebub angry. He never lost his cool, regardless of the situation.
Although Beelzebub was called cunning and treacherous by the public, Halifer knew.
Out of the six rulers of the Demon World, Beelzebub was the wisest.
‘He is the only one who can become the true ruler of Hell.’
After pondering for a long time, the King of Flies finally muttered.
“There is a traitor.”
“Huh?”
“Someone is communicating with the Demigods.”
“Why do you think that?”
“They don’t know much about the Demon World. Nevertheless, they have an excellent understanding about their surroundings.”
This was definitely the case.
Halifer agreed with Beelzebub. Clearly, they had chosen a strange place to advance.
‘They should have passed through Asura’s Slaughter Hell, which would have been the worst place for the invaders.’
Asura’s Slaughter Hell was not a place that the Demigods’ would have been able to penetrate easily.
Asura’s territory was infested with battle fanatics who loved fighting. None of his loyal subordinates disliked blood and slaughter.
As such, the combat capability of his territory was excellent. If they had collided, the Demigods would have been hit hard.
‘But they attacked the Black Dream Hell instead.’
This was Lilith’s territory and the homeland of all Dream Demons. Naturally, their combat power was much lower than other demons’.
Nevertheless, the reason their land had not been invaded and taken from them was because the illusion arts used by the Dream Demons were quite troublesome. Unfortunately, this trump card had no effect against the Demigods.
Their mental power was not something that ordinary demons could compete with. It was possible that Lilith, the Queen of Dream Demons, could affect them if she were to act personally, but the illusions from her subordinates would have no effect.
‘About half of the Black Dream Hell has already been lost.’
It had been taken quickly. And soon, their advance would reach Beelzebub’s territory.
Their goal was Barbatos’ Despair Hell. And to get there, they had to go through Beelzebub’s Bloody Hell.
So Beelzebub had sent two of his High-rank subordinates to the Black Dream Hell as reinforcements.
He would not have done it if it were any other Hell. Nevertheless, they had been wiped out without being able to even leave a scratch.
“Are you still trying to find Lord’s location?”
“Yes.”
Beelzebub became lost in thought once again.
‘Lord’s power is definitely annoying.’
The power to control space. The versatility of such an ability was too great. It was fortunate that he couldn’t move around with other Demigods.
‘That’s probably why he’s moving separately.”
If it weren’t for Lord, Beelzebub and the other Archdukes wouldn’t have been acting separately even now. Instead, they would have launched an all-out war while they figured out the others’ abilities.
But without knowing Lord’s whereabouts, they were unable to move hastily.
While they were fighting the main Demigod army, Lord might have turned their unprotected Hells into wastelands. In that case, even if they won the war against the Demigods, they would still lose in the end.
‘It’s ultimately reached this stage.’
An alliance made by demons was thinner than a piece of wet paper and even easier to tear.
He wondered how Lilith, whose Black Dream Hell was under attack, would act in the next meeting.
Beelzebub awakened from his thoughts.
“Their speed of attacking the Black Dream Hell is much faster than we expected. It’s a speed that doesn’t make sense unless they have knowledge of the terrains of the various hells as well as the demons who populate them. And there is no way that the Demigods already had this information.”
“Ah. I see.”
“And this type of knowledge is not something that could be obtained from a low-level demon.”
Beelzebub said these words with a fierce voice, his bloody eyes swiveling bizarrely in his head.
“The traitor is a high-level demon. He has to be at least High-rank. Halifer, investigate the demons who have suddenly disappeared in the last decade. Those above Mid-rank. You’ll have to investigate not only our territory but also the other Hells as well. I will tell the other rulers in advance.”
“As you wish.”
Halifer bowed his head, admiring the wisdom of the King of Flies. He was a demon whose loyalty towards his ruler pierced the sky, something that was rare for a demon.
Because of this, although his combat power was a bit lacking, he was able to become one of the arms of the King of Flies.
Halifer stepped out of the room, his expression still filled with reverence.
Beelzebub also rose up from his place on his throne. He had to meet someone urgently.
Just as he opened the window and was about to fly into the murky skies of Hell.
“Where are you going?”
“…”
Beelzebub turned his gaze to the direction from which he heard the voice.
There was an uninvited guest standing there.
“Ruler of the Corrupted Hell.”
“Hmm.”
Lucifer, the lord of the Corrupted Hell, raised his head.
“What do you want with me, King of Flies?”